Bleach: Rukia's Requiem
by Zwinky
Summary: Rukia returns the Human World after being gone for two years. The life that she knew completely gone. There are some things that cannot be told, and some things that don't want to be remembered. So what is it that Rukia doesn't want to remember? RukiaxIchigo, and an OC! Please review x
1. Chapter 1

**This story takes place after the Fullbring arc, but anything after that (like the Thousand-year blood war arc) isn't even a thought yet. **

**Hope you enjoy! Please review x**

Prologue:

Rukia breathed in, struggling to fill her lungs. Every breath also sent pain through her right arm and side.

She couldn't understand how things had turned out so bad. She looked at her remaining men around her. Most of them were leaning against something, trying to stop their own bleeding. There were about ten men still standing, but Rukia knew they wouldn't be enough to defeat the enemy.

They had been tracking him for a while, and finally caught up to him. Everything they needed to know about it had been given to them, but its power had grown immensely in the amount of time that had passed since they had received their orders.

Rukia ducked as it swung its tail at her, only narrowly avoiding the collusion. She took the opening and swung her blade out, slicing through the man's cloack. He screamed and turned around, one of his long arms crashing into Rukia. She braced herself as she crashed into a nearby rock. Slowly she pushed herself onto one elbow, coughing out blood that had filled her lungs.

Bracing herself against the rock wall, she was able to climb to her feet before picking up Sode no Shirayuki. Rukia was well aware of the fact that she only had enough strength left for one big attack, but she didn't see any other option.

Slowly she lifted her Zanpakutō.

"Hakka no Togame."

Chapter one:

Rukia stepped from the Senkaimon, anticipating the smell of the human world. She had missed it, a lot actually. There was something about it that made her nostalgic, but she couldn't pinpoint it.

Once the gates closed behind her, Rukia rolled her shoulders and took a deep breath. The brisk autumn air filled her lungs, almost feeling like it was flooding her veins. She had gotten used to overwhelming heat, used to the feeling of drowning in an ocean of fire.

Rukia pushed the memories from her head, refusing to let it take over again.

Quietly she started walking, tugging at her scarf until it covered her mouth, before shoving her hands into her jacket's pockets. She made quick work of the park, not bothering to take her time since she wanted to get the greetings over.

Her first stop was supposed to be Uruhara, but she figured it would be quicker to just stop by any ones house on the way there. Needless to say, she had a few places to stop by.

The sun was sitting low in the sky, throwing shadows over Rukia's path. She watched them as they passed by her, occasionally looking at her own over her shoulder. It was another thing she had seen rarely on her last mission.

The first person's house was Orihime's. The quaint little flat didn't look any different than it had since she had left. She walked up the stairs and looked for Orihime's room number, standing in front of it for a little while. Finally she mustered up some courage and knocked three times. There was a loud shuffling from inside and the sound of someone colliding with something.

Rukia heard the safety chain being put into place before the door was unlocked. The door opened just enough for Orihime to try and see through it. There was a moment before her eye widened, and Rukia took it to mutter "Hello."

The door slammed shut, followed by the noise of metal against metal. Seconds later Orihime opened the door and threw her arms around Rukia. "Rukia!" she exclaimed along with this motion, practically suffocating the smaller girl with her… um… assets.

Rukia smiled to herself before Orihime let go, glad that she was at least missed. The orange-haired girl pulled away, standing awkwardly in front of Rukia. "Wanna come in?" she asked, stepping back to give Rukia space.

Rukia thanked her politely before stepping into the small apartment, taking off her scarf and starting to unbutton her jacket. "O, here, let me help" Orihime said before reaching out to pull Rukia's jacket down over her shoulders.

Rukia spun around quickly, putting her hands up over her chest, "O, no, I'd like to keep it on if you don't mind" she said. Orihime looked at her strangely for a moment, but didn't pursue her curiosity.

They both sat down on the couch, trying to get over the already awkward situation. "So, how have you been?" Rukia asked, hoping that talking would loosen Orihime up a little. It seemed to work, because Orihime's features seemed to soften a bit.

"Things have been fine, but two years sure can change your life" Orihime said, observing the wall in front of them. "Can you even believe it's been a little over two years since you left?" she asked Rukia, well more like stating it. Rukia sighed, "Yeah" she said, not believing two years had passed in the human world since she had left.

Orihime started telling her about everything after that, mostly pointless things, but Rukia liked it. It almost made her feel like she hadn't been gone all that long.

"That's pretty much it" Orihime said, much more relaxed than about an hour earlier. She quickly lifted her arm and checked her watch, jumping up when she saw the time. "I'm going to be late!" she exclaimed, looking around the room for something. She finally sprinted over to the kitchen table and picked up a little box. The box was wrapped and tied up with a bow, which led Rukia to the conclusion that Orihime was late for someone's birthday party.

"Rukia, where are you going after this?" she asked, jogging in place while she waited for Rukia's answer. "I guess I was going to stop at everyone's houses" Rukia said, placing her hands on her lap.

"O, you probably won't find them there" Orihime stated. "It's Uryu's birthday today" she continued "All of us are going to his house to celebrate."

Rukia thought it over for a moment. True, it would get the greetings over even faster than she had planned, but she wasn't sure if she could handle seeing the whole group at once. She decided to just rip off the Band-Aid.

"Do you think it would be okay if I came along?" Rukia asked, still not sure if it was the right choice. Orihime's eyes seemed to brighten when Rukia spoke, and the next moment they found themselves running down the street. Uryu lived in a pretty fancy part of down, so they had to flag a taxi to get there. For a moment Rukia thought she was underdressed, but then she noticed that Orihime was wearing about the same thing.

It wasn't until they were walking down the driveway that Rukia started to get nervous. She had thought about what she would tell them in the taxi, but the words seemed to slip off her tongue as the house came into view.

She heard music and voices coming from inside. Obviously it wasn't just there merry little band of misfits that were attending the party. Uryu's dad must have invited a lot of people.

"Orihime, I'll come inside in a little, please don't tell anyone I'm her yet" Rukia asked, her nerves getting the better of her for a moment. Orihime looked at her with understanding eyes and knocked on the door only after Rukia had slipped around the house.

Rukia heard the door being opened and Orihime greeting someone, but the door closed before she could hear who the other person was. Rukia walked further around the house, hoping there might be a back gate of sorts. To her luck there was one, but the house was so big that Rukia felt like she had walk about two kilometres before she had reached it.

It was unlocked and Rukia slipped in with no problem.

The back garden was huge, _and almost as beautiful as Byakuya's, _Rukia thought as she walked through it. There were roses everywhere, and with the moonlight it looked like they were glowing. Rukia found the nearest bench and sat down on it, hanging her head back. She knew she was simply postponing the inevitable, but she couldn't help herself. She was terrified of seeing everyone again.

The music from inside had changed to instrumental music, some of which Rukia recognised. Finally she pulled herself together and started looking for the back door. She found it easily enough and went into the house. She wasn't sure where she was going, but figured the music would be the best sound to follow.

A few hallways and wrong turns later, Rukia found herself standing in front of closed double doors. The music was coming from the other side, mixed with the clatter of cutlery and the laughter of people. It didn't sound like a speech was being made, so Rukia pushed the doors open and went inside.

No one seemed to notice her entrance, and it put Rukia a bit more at ease. She scanned the room for anyone she wanted to see. She was so caught up in looking around that she didn't notice a man in a black suite approach her. "Excuse me, Miss, may I take your jacket and scarf?" the butler asked, one arm behind his back and the other extended towards her.

She quickly gave him her scarf and, after a fierce inner battle, decided to hand him her jacket as well. She hugged her body before pinning her arms to her side. She was wearing a flimsy black blouse, but that wasn't something worth noticing compared to her hair.

Her raven hair, that once tickled the nape of her neck, hung all the way to the middle of her waste. For some reason she hadn't cut it while she had been away, but she liked the change.

She tugged the piece of hair that used to hang in her face behind her ear. She almost hadn't recognised herself without it when she first got back to the Soul Society. It really had been her signature look.

Before anyone would notice, Rukia took her long hair and tucked in into her shirt, trying to create the illusion that her hair was still short. It would be too hard to explain to people why her hair had suddenly grown so much.

She wasn't sure who she wanted to see first, but when she saw Uryu she figured he was as good as any, even though they hadn't really been close.

"Happy Birthday" Rukia said as she came up behind him.

Uryu must have tried to place her voice, but turned around when he couldn't. Rukia knew that among the rich it was rude when you couldn't greet your guests by their names. His eyes widened momentarily, but he quickly caught himself.

"Rukia, welcome back" he said, a small smile playing on his lips. Rukia returned his smile and they started talking. Neither of them were big on conversations, so they stuck to the basic need-to-know topics. Uryu told her a bit more about the spirit issues than Orihime had. Apparently not much had been going on, the hollow activities had been pretty quiet. Rukia listened in silence, absorbing any important details.

Their conversation was cut short by a "Rukia?" from somewhere near them. They both looked around and saw Chad coming towards them. "Chad, hi" Rukia said as the giant piece of a man stopped next to her. "It's been a while" Rukia continued when it was obvious that Chad didn't plan on saying anything else.

"Yes, I hope you've been well" Chad said, looking down at Rukia, even though she knew she had become a bit taller. She considered the question for a second, not sure if they truly needed to know the story behind why she wasn't really all that well.

"Yeah, I've been great" Rukia said, putting a smile on her face. Chad and Uryu didn't seem to notice her little glitch, which was good for her. After that things became even more silent between the trio, so much so that Rukia almost hugged Orihime when she joined them.

"O, Uryu, Ichigo says he's on his way" Orihime said, holding her glass of champagne with both hands. It was pretty clear she couldn't hold her alcohol.

Rukia's heart skipped a beat when she heard Ichigo's name spoken out loud. She had tried to keep him out of her thoughts until she had to go see him, they didn't exactly part on the best of terms.

"That damn Ichigo, I told him he would be late if he didn't plan ahead" Uryu said, using his free hand to press his glasses further up his nose. Rukia wondered why it was that Ichigo was late, but at the same time didn't want to know.

She stood silently and listened as the three of them chattered on, talking about things that Rukia wasn't part of. She had expected as much, but for some reason it still hurt to know she had missed two years of their lives.

Uryu, Chad and Orihime were in the middle of discussing their universities when a loud bang from the hallway stopped them. Everyone in the room stopped and stared at the closed doors, wondering what was causing the ongoing commotion. Rukia knew instantly what it was, and by the looks of her three friend's faces, it was clear that they knew too.

The doors opened just as a young man pulled an older man into a head-lock, yelling at him to be quiet. Two younger girls slipped into the room and made for the furthest corner, almost as if not wanting to be associated with the scene. Ichigo and his dad finally noticed that there was an entire room of people looking at them, which caused Ichigo to drop his dad.

"Always have to make a scene" Uryu muttered angrily before handing his glass to a nearby caterer. Then he stomped over to the door, apologized to his guests and closed the doors behind him. The conversations quickly started and soon the room was as lively as ever, but if you listened carefully you could hear Uryu yelling at the two Kurosaki men.

Rukia and Orhime glanced at each other before giggling.

Ten minutes later the doors opened and Uryu came back in, followed by a very ashamed looking Ichigo. Mr. Kurosaki wasn't with them anymore.

Rukia stared at Ichigo, her heart racing in anticipation of the moment that he notices her. At the last moment she couldn't take it anymore. She looked around for any exit that didn't cross Ichigo's quickly advancing path. Luckily he and Uryu seemed to be caught in a deep conversation.

"Rukia? What's wrong?" Orihime asked when she noticed Rukia's head spinning in many directions. "I can't, I need to get out" Rukia muttered to herself, but it was too late.

"Rukia" she heard her name, said so softly that it could have been a whisper.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Slowly she looked in front of her. Ichigo was still a few steps away, but he was closer than Rukia wanted him to be at that moment. They looked at each other in silence, the others looking at each of them in turn. Chad was the first to catch on and gestured for Uryu and Orhime to follow him.

"Hay" Rukia said once Ichigo had moved closer. "Hay" he said back, putting both his hands into his pockets. "How have you been?" Rukia asked first, unable to bare anymore awkward situations. Ichigo seemed relieved by her question and relaxed a little bit.

"Fine, just fine. And you? You were gone so long that I wasn't sure if you were ever coming back" Ichigo said, sounding a little like he was apologizing for something. "Yeah, things got a little out of hand" Rukia said sheepishly "But I'm back now, I don't think I'll be sent on another mission for a while now."

Ichigo opened his mouth to say something, but he was stopped by one of the guests that came up to him. Rukia didn't recognise the man, but he and Ichigo seemed to know each other well. She wondered if it wasn't one of Ichigo's dad's work friends. Now that she thought about it, she didn't even know what Ichigo was doing with his life. All of them must have finished school already.

When the man saw that Ichigo had company he said his goodbyes and turned to someone else he could talk to.

"Sorry 'bout that" Ichigo said once he had turned back to Rukia. "It's fine, is he one of your dad's friends?" Rukia asked, accepting another glass of champagne from a passing caterer. "Sort of, he went to university with my dad, but now he's one of my lecturers at Tokyo University" Ichigo explained, after a sip from his glass.

Rukia hadn't had any alcohol on her mission, which meant that her head was already starting to spin a little bit. "O, I'm guessing he's an acquaintance of Uryu's dad, since he's here?" Rukia asked. "I think all doctors know each other in some way or another" Ichigo said, laughing at the idea. Rukia joined in, wondering if it could actually be possible.

It wasn't long before they fell back into old habits, talking to each other like they had never even been separated.

About two hours had passed before the party was called to an end. The five of them had spent the whole night together, catching up. Rukia enjoyed it a lot, but when they asked about her mission, she redirected the question.

"Thank you everyone" Uryu announced, holding his glass up. "Please drive home safely" he said before the guests started leaving. "Same for you guys" Uryu said when he turned around again, facing all of them. Orihime pouted and Rukia followed her lead.

"Come on, I have to get this place neat again" Uryu said, pushing them all towards the door. Once outside, Chad offered to walk Orhime home. She accepted and the waved their final goodbyes at Ichigo and Rukia.

"Where're you going now?" Ichigo asked once they had turned the corner. Rukia was about to answer, but realised that she actually didn't know. She had had planned to ask Urahara if she could sleep there while she was visiting, but her plans hadn't worked out that way.

She explained the situation to Ichigo who nodded understandingly. "Guess there's no choice then, you'll have to spend the night at my place" Ichigo said nonchalantly, almost as if they were six year olds having a sleep over.

Ichigo looked down when she didn't reply. "In, in the closet of course" he stammered when he saw how red her face had gotten. "Of course, idiot, where else could you have meant?" Rukia asked, jabbing him hard in the ribs. It's true that she hadn't thought of the closet first, but she'd rather go back to hell than admit that.

"That hurt!" Ichigo yelled out, rubbing his side.

"What? You've become weak again?" Rukia mocked, walking out in front of Ichigo. "Of course not, but I might not be used to midgets attacking me anymore" Ichigo said, causing Rukia's eyebrow to twitch a little.

They bickered all the way home, occasionally stopping when Rukia tried to attack. In the end they raced the last bit home, Rukia in the lead, until Rukia saw a figure standing in front of Ichigo's house.

It was a girl, but not one that Rukia recognised.

She looked up when she heard them, easing herself off the sidewalk and running up to them. Rukia was about to say something, but the girl shot straight passed her and threw herself into Ichigo's arms.

Ichigo looked down at the girl for a moment, then up at Rukia, then back down. Finally he wrapped his arms around her, "Hana" he said "I didn't know you were here already." Hana, upon hearing this, stepped away and looked up at Ichigo. "I wanted to surprise you" Hana said before putting her hands on Ichigo's shoulders.

Rukia watched as Hana stood on her toes and kissed Ichigo right on the lips.

Growing up, Rukia hadn't really been around lots of couples. Her days before joining the Thirteen Court Guard Squads were pretty much filled with running and hiding. When Byakuya finally came for her she was introduced into another lifestyle, but where social ruled dictated that public displays of affection is wrong.

The only place Rukia saw true affection was from Kaien and the occasional wrong turn into a dark alley.

She hadn't thought about having a physical relationship herself, she was too busy focusing on her growing rank. Also, the few times she witness people kissing, it hadn't bothered her. But now, watching as Hana kissed Ichigo, Rukia stood stunned. She couldn't believe it. Didn't want to believe it.

Before she stop herself she spun on her heel, walking quickly to the house. The front door was unlocked so Rukia slipped inside, not bothering to close it before going upstairs. She knew there was no point in running away, the first place Ichigo would look for her was inside the closet, but it was the only she could think of going.

She slid the closet door open, surprised to find that it was as empty as the day she left.

She didn't allow herself to thing what that could mean, knowing that she was only hurting herself. When she heard the front door open she quickly slipped into the closet, sliding the door shut when she heard someone coming up the stairs.

Rukia pulled herself into a little ball, wrapping her arms around her legs and pressing her head into the rift between her knees. No matter how hard she tried, her and Ichigo's last moment slipped into her head anyway.

She held her breath when she heard the bedroom door opening.

"Rukia?" Ichigo's asked hesitantly. Rukia didn't reply, instead she clutched her legs tighter against her chest. She heard him close the door behind him and walked until she heard his footsteps stop in front of the closet.

"Rukia, please" Ichigo whispered, putting his hand on the door handle. It seemed like he was waiting for her to say it was okay, but instead Rukia said "Don't" and then she added "I'm not upset, Ichigo, it just took me a little by surprise."

She heard him sigh before removing his hand. "Can we at least talk about it?" Ichigo asked. Rukia could almost see him threading his fingers through his hair. Rukia let go of her legs and sat so that she was facing the door. After taking a deep breath, she pulled it open. Ichigo had sat down on his bed, head in his hands.

"What is there to talk about?" Rukia said softly, her voice coming out extremely sad. Ichigo looked up when he realised he could hear her voice clearly.

"I mean, it was two years ago" she continued, "Neither of us knew I would be gone so long, the mission was only supposed to go on for two or three months. How can I blame you?" She knew she was right, but that didn't mean that every single word didn't burn as they left her tongue.

Ichigo looked at her, "I guess you're right" he said, resting his elbows on his knees and intertwining his long fingers. "So what now?" he asked.

Rukia jumped out of the closet and sat down on the bed next to him. "Now we continue as if we never said those things, as if that moment never happened" Rukia said, leaning back and looking up at the ceiling. Ichigo didn't say anything, but it was a silent understanding the two of them made.

"Where's, um, Hana?" Rukia asked "I'd like to meet her, she seems nice enough." Ichigo looked over at her, one eyebrow raised. "She left for the night, I told her you and I had some things to talk through" Ichigo said, making it sound like any sane girlfriend would be fine with it.

"O, that's nice of her" was all Rukia said.

Ichigo looked over at her. "She's a great person, we've been going out for about five months now" he said, almost as if that would make their situation any less confusing. "Were did the two of you meet?" Rukia asked, hoping that talking about her would make things easier on both of them.

Apparently Ichigo had met Hana on the first day of university. At first they were only friends, but soon they found out that their father's knew each other, which meant they started spending more and more time together.

Rukia didn't really want to know those things, she didn't want to know about the day Ichigo asked Hana out, she didn't want to know where they spent their afternoons, but she put on a smile and laughed along when he told something funny.

After a while Rukia yawned and they decided it was time to sleep, that and the fact that it was almost one o'clock in the morning.

"Goodnight" Rukia called from the closet once Ichigo had turned the lights off. She heard him mutter something back, but couldn't properly hear him.

It was until she was sure that he was asleep that she put her hand up to her face, brushing a single tear from her cheek.

* * *

><p><strong>So, there's chapter 2 of my new Bleach fanfic. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Please let me know your thoughts on anything you think I'm doing wrong, or maybe doing right :)<strong>

**xx**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Morning at the Kurosaki residence was as chaotic as ever.

Rukia was woken up by the sound of people yelling and things crashing. She groaned as she pushed the closet door open, hopping down. Her body ache from sleeping in a little ball, which hadn't even been comfortable because of the jeans she had slept in.

She was halfway down the stairs when she realised her hair had come out while she had slept. She hurried to push it back down her shirt, almost popping a button in the process.

The scene when Rukia reached the bottom of the stairs almost brought tears to her eyes.

Ichigo and his dad were fighting about something while Karin and Yuzu continued to set the table as if it was the TV making so much noise. "Let go!" Ichigo yelled, signalling the end of their fight. Or his perfect round-house kick could possibly have been the end.

Everyone looked up when they heard Rukia laughing, setting off a chain reaction throughout the room. After they had all settled down, everyone took their seats around the table.

"Yuzu, this is amazing" Rukia said after the first few bites. Yuzu smiled brightly at Rukia, thanking her politely. Rukia had often wondered how a girl like Yuzu was born into a family like the Kurosaki's. She was sweet, well-mannered and petite. She was nothing like her siblings or her father, so she must have taken after their mother.

"Rukia?" Karin asked suddenly. Rukia looked up, her chopsticks half way to her mouth. "Yes" Rukia asked, putting her hand back down. "Are those the only clothes you have here?" she asked, looking at Rukia's black shirt.

Rukia touched the material. "Pretty much, I was planning on buying some new ones this week" she said before resuming the bite she had put down. "Guess you can borrow some of mine then" Karin offered. For the first time, Rukia looked at Karin properly. Both Karin and Yuzu actually.

They had both grown up while Rukia was gone.

Yuzu had kept her baby-face, but her long hair made it appear slimmer. She had gotten taller, but not much compared to Karin, who appeared to be about a head shorter than Ichigo- it was hard to tell while they were sitting. Karin had also cut her hair so that it hung just above her collar, which suited her well.

"I have a few older things that should fit" Karin continued when she saw Rukia trying to do a length calculation. "Me too" Yuzu chimed in. Rukia smiled, "Thank you, it'd be a big help."

The rest of breakfast went by as usual, and afterwards Rukia helped clear the table. Mr Kurosaki had gotten a call and left before anyone could force him to help.

"Rukia, do you have any plan for today?" Ichigo asked once they had cleaned the kitchen. Rukia looked up from the plate she was drying. "Nothing in particular, I just have to go by Uruhara's place" she said, taking the stack of dry plates to their spot in the overhead cabinet.

"I promised Hana we could go to the Aquarium, do you want to come along?" Ichigo asked, looking at Rukia while she tried to reach the top shelf.

Rukia was about to give up and fetch a step ladder when something behind her stopped her. She looked up over her shoulder and found that Ichigo was blocking her way. She was about to ask what his deal was when he took the plates from her and placed them in their spot. While doing this, Ichigo had to lean forward, pressing into Rukia.

"S-sure" Rukia stammered "Can I meet you guys there? I need to go to Uruhara first, it's important." Ichigo finally stepped away and Rukia felt like she could breathe again. "Guess that could work. Does one o'clock sound good to you?" Ichigo said after thinking about it. Rukia nodded and pretended to wipe invisible crumbs from the counter.

"Okay, see you" Ichigo said as he walked away, waving one hand above his shoulder. Rukia watched him go, leaning back against the counter. Once he was gone she went up to Karin's room, knocking twice before she heard Karin answer. She opened the door and stepped in.

The room was covered in sport posters and the shelves decorated with trophies. Rukia recognised some of them as being football, swimming and kendo awards, but the smaller ones were less interpretable. Karin was lounging on the bed, a magazine in her hands.

"Sorry to interrupt, I was just wondering about those clothes" Rukia said sheepishly, feeling more than a bit invasive since she has never actually been in Karin's room. Karin hopped off the bed and went over to her closet. "I think I put them somewhere around here" she muttered as she opened the door and stuck her head in.

Rukia took the time to inspect Karin's room a bit more.

"Aha!" she exclaimed as she emerged victoriously. She turned to Rukia and gave her what appeared to be a bleached denim jean and an orange jacket. "You'll have to ask Yuzu for shoes, mine won't fit you" Karin said while Rukia bundled the clothes into her arms. "Thanks" she said as she went back to the door, trying to close it while holding the clothes in her one hand.

She put the clothes in Ichigo's room before going back down the hall to Yuzu's. The door was open so Rukia stepped in halfway, saying Yuzu's name. Yuzu jumped away from her vanity table and walked, or more like skipped, over to Rukia. "Come in!" she said and closed the door behind them. "What can I do for you?" she asked, motioning for Rukia to sit down on the bed next to her.

"Karin said to ask you for shoes…" Rukia said absentmindedly while she examined Yuzu's room. She had never in her life seen anything so girly, not that it bothered her, she almost felt like she was in a plushie heaven.

"Sure thing" Yuzu said as she bounded to her closet, fiddling around at the bottom. She quickly came up with two pairs, one pair of pink ballet flats and a pair of white high-top sneakers. Rukia pretended to think about it, trying not to look like she preferred the sneakers (even though she did).

She was half way to the door when she spotted something in Yuzu's closet, stopping her dead in her tracks. "Rukia?" Yuzu, who had almost bumped into her, asked. She quickly realised Rukia was looking at something and turned her gaze in the same direction.

"Agh, I should have known you'd like it. She went back to the closet and pulled out a baby-pink hoody with a Chappie figure on the front. "It even has bunny ears at the back" Yuzu exclaimed, which made Rukia desire it even more.

"Here" Yuzu said, handing it to Rukia, "You can have it." Rukia looked at Yuzu and then at the Chappie figure. "No way, I can't accept this" Rukia said, almost dropping the sneakers when she started waving her hands in front of her. "Don't worry about it. Look at it as a welcome back gift" Yuzu continued, hanging the hoody over Rukia's arm.

Rukia, who realised Yuzu woulnd't take no for an answer, accepted it and even hugged her.

"Everything appears to be normal" Uruhara said as he led Rukia from to the back room. "You shouldn't have any problems in the near future." Rukia nervously smoothed her hoody down before pulling herself together.

"Thanks again, Uruhara" Rukia said as she stepped from the shop. "No problem, please feel free to visit again soon" Uruhara said as he waved goodbye. "O, and Rukia, I like you top!" Rukia heard just as she stepped through the gates.

She ended up wearing the Chappie hoody instead of the one Karin gave her. It looked good with the bleached jean and white sneakers. Rukia guessed that the jeans were skinny jeans on Karin, but it sat loose on Rukia, she even had to role up the legs so that it didn't hang over the sneakers. Luckily Rukia thought it looked pretty cool.

It was ten to one when Rukia arrived at the aquarium, but Ichigo and company didn't appear to be there. She figured they would come to the entrance first so she went and leaned against one of the pillars that held the giant "Karakura Marine World" sign. She started observing the people around her, mostly families with younger children or couples.

It struck her how normal it felt to be among all those people. On her mission it was only her and about thirty other Soul Reapers, there had never been any loud conversations or having fun. It had been strictly mission talk.

Rukia turned her head when she heard a woman scream, a chill going down her spine. There appeared to be a man with a water gun shooting people. More screams erupted from the crowd, surrounding Rukia completely.

"No" she said to herself "Don't think about it." She wrapped her arms around herself, her entire body starting to shake. She shook her head from side to side, the screams of her men filling her ears. They were a mixture of war cries and death cries, pain and pride.

Finally she sank onto her feet, putting her hands over her ears. They wouldn't stop, it consumes her, leaving her breathless. She knew people had stopped to look at her, probably wondering if they needed to call an ambulance. None of them mattered to her, the voices in her head were escalating.

"Rukia!" a voice called, filled with panic. She didn't reply, couldn't reply.

"Rukia, look at me! What's wrong?" the person asked again and this time Rukia felt hands wrapping around her wrists. The voices stopped, leaving an almost defining silence in their wake.

"Ichigo" Rukia breathed, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Nothing's wrong, I'm fine" she said, standing up before he could object. Onlookers had started to move on, which was a relief for Rukia. "Are you serious? You were practically having a panic attack?!" Ichigo almost yelled at her, but caught himself when he remembered they were in a public place.

"I said I'm fine, Ichigo" Rukia said forcefully, intending to sound final, but Ichigo didn't plan on backing down.

"Then why are you crying?"

Rukia reached up and touched her face, her fingers coming back wet. She angrily rubbed at her face with her sleeve, trying to wipe away any and all sign of her momentary lapse. When she didn't say anything, Ichigo let out a very exasperated sigh. "Fine, you don't have to tell me now, just remember I'm here if you need me."

Rukia wanted to tell him how much it meant to her, but feared she might start crying again. Instead she simply nodded her head, not even looking at him.

"Excuse me" a small voice said. Both Rukia and Ichigo turned too looked at the small girl standing behind Ichigo. She was very pretty, with long auburn hair and big blue eyes. She was around Rukia's height, maybe a little bit taller. For a moment Rukia didn't know who she was, but then she realised that she had never actually seen Hana's face the previous night.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but are you okay?" Hana asked, sounding truly concerned for Rukia.

"O, um, yes, thank you. I'm fine" Rukia said, stepping around Ichigo. "Hi, my name is Rukia Kuchiki" Rukia said, extending her one hand forward. Hana hesitated for a moment, but took Rukia's hand, shaking it firmly. "Hana, Hana Ogino" she said with a smile "Nice to finally meet you Rukia."

Rukia hadn't missed the 'finally', but also didn't plan on commenting on it. She was just glad to know that Ichigo had spoken about her to Hana more than once. The two girls looked at each other a little longer, but not in a hostile way, before Ichigo stepped in.

"Are we gonna go in?" Ichigo asked, motioning to the door, still looking at Rukia as if he'd rather take her to a hospital. "Of course" Hana said, moving forward so that she could walk next to Ichigo. Rukia's stomach turned a little when she reached out and took his hand. She noticed Ichigo give her a look over his shoulder, looking a little guilty, but didn't reject Hana's advance. Then again, why would he? They were dating after all.

Ichigo insisted on paying for their tickets, even when Rukia tried to object.

"O, Rukia, I love your hoody" Hana cooed while they were walking towards the first exhibit. "Don't think it's cute Ichigo?" she said, tugging on Ichigo's sleeve. "Yeah, it-" Ichigo cut himself off when he turned to look at Rukia, his eyes widening momentarily. "It's cute" he finished quickly, looking ahead of him again.

Hana looked at Ichigo curiously, then at Rukia, who simply shrugged her shoulders. Luckily Ichigo's strange moment was quickly forgotten when they reached the first exhibit, Hana even let go of Ichigo to get a better look at the giant fish in the massive tank.

About two hours later the Aquarium's intercom made a noise, followed by a woman's voice. "Good day guests, we would like to invite you to our new tropical exhibit on the right wing of the second floor. It's nice and warm and the fish are bubbly to see you. Thank you very much" the voice ended.

"Let's go!" Hana said, sounding very excited. Ichigo looked over at Rukia who nodded and they set off.

"Welcome" a man said as they joined the line of people, which luckily wasn't long yet. "May I take any extra layers you're wearing? It's pretty hot inside, you'll be able to get them on the way out" the man continued with a smile.

Both Ichigo and Hana started peeling off layers, but Rukia raised her hand and said "That's okay, I'll be fine." She knew it was strange, but the shirt she wore underneath her hoody wasn't one that could hide her hair.

The man took Ichigo and Hana's and walked back to the entrance of the exhibit. They didn't ask Rukia why she didn't give the man her layers.

Soon Rukia started to regret it. The exhibit was wonderful, but she constantly had to tug at her collar or pulled at bottom of her hoody and fan herself. When she started to sweat, Ichigo stepped in. "Rukia, serisouly, take it off" he said as went to her and started to tug off her hoody. Rukia, who didn't know what Ichigo was doing, was just in time to hold shirt she was wearing underneath down once her arms were free.

"There, isn't that better?" Ichigo asked once he stepped away, Rukia's pink hoody still in his hand. Rukia was about to yell at him, but his expression stopped her. For a moment she couldn't understand why he was staring at her, but then she remember. She remained silent, and threw her hair over her shoulders, but realised it was futile, he had already seen it.

"Wow, Rukia! I didn't know you had such pretty hair" Hana exclaimed, coming forward and combing her fingers down the length of Rukia's hair. "Um, thanks, Hana" Rukia said nervously, keeping her eyes on Ichigo. She knew he was doing some form of a mental calculation. He has two sisters, he knows it's not possible for a girl's hair to grow to length of Rukia's in two years.

Ichigo was about to say something, but got pulled away by Hana when she saw something interesting on the other side of the room. He didn't bring it up for the rest of the day, well, that would have entailed him actually speaking to her, which he didn't do.

It wasn't until the sun was setting that they walked Hana back to her house. Rukia gave them a minute alone so that they could get their goodbyes out of the way. Once that was done, Rukia and Ichigo walked back in complete silence. Ichigo didn't say a word and didn't pace himself so that Rukia could walk next to him.

After a few blocks Rukia couldn't stand it anymore. She reached and grabbed his sleeve. "Stop" she said, looking down. "If you have something to say, just say it, but don't act like I'm not here."

She could feel Ichigo's gaze on her, almost as if were the sun's rays burning her skin. "I would, but you probably won't answer my questions" Ichigo said, sounding more than a little annoyed. It bothered Rukia that he sounded that way, as if her presence had gone from being welcomed to being tolerated.

"What do you want me to say? Do you want me to tell you what Hell was like? You know what Hell's like Ichigo, you've been there twice!" Rukia retorted, standing back so that she could look at him properly.

"That's not the thing I want to know, I want to know why you were sent there. I want to know why you had a panic attack earlier today. I want to know how your hair's so fricking long" Ichigo said, looking at Rukia with expecting eyes. She wanted to fade away at that moment, because there was no way she could avoid Ichigo's questions any longer.

"Ichigo, please…" Rukia started to say, but she was interrupted.

Both Ichigo and Rukia forgot about their fight when they heard a roar, and not just any roar. They looked at each other, neither having to ask any questions.

"Hollow."

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><p><strong>Yay! Chapter 3 :) Please let me know what you thought about it. I'm sorry if it's a little secretive, but a little mystery never killed anyone.<strong>

**xx**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

"Come on" Ichigo said and took off in the direction of the noise. Rukia hesitated, but quickly caught up with him. They sprinted through the streets, Ichigo fiddling in his pocket for something. He came to a sudden stop when he found what he was looking for. Rukia stopped next to him, trying to see what was in his hand. She instantly recognised the little green pill, happy that Ichigo still kept Kōn around.

He lifted the pill and popped it into his mouth. There was a distinct whooshing sound followed by two Ichigos, one in normal clothes and one in traditional Shinigami clothes. Rukia didn't waste any time. Kon had barely opened his eyes befoe Rukia smacked him in the back of the head, catching the pill as it came out. She repeated Ichigo' steps and soon felt the sensation of her body and soul tearing apart.

Something was different, Rukia noticed it immediately, but she couldn't tell what was wrong. It almost felt like she only had half her soul, like she didn't have access to her entire body. "Don't be stupid" she whispered to herself.

Kōn, now in Rukia's body, woke up just as Ichigo's body fell into him. "What?!" he cried out and tried to catch the body, but Rukia's human body wasn't strong enough. Rukia never saw if they had fallen, because she was already two blocks away by then.

"Where is it?" Rukia asked as she caught up to him mid-flight. Ichigo pointed in front of them and Rukia felt stupid for asking in the first place, the hollow was huge. They landed behind it, giving themselves a chance to investigate.

It really was gigantic, even bigger than it had looked from above. It had a long tail with spikes that looked a lot like broken glass shards. It stood on two legs and had two long arms that almost reached the ground. Rukia couldn't see its mask, but she had a feeling that would change soon enough.

Ichigo tugged Rukia's sleeve before he started gesturing with his hands to explain the plan to her. At first she didn't understand him, but soon he slowed down a bit. The plan, from what Rukia understood, was for Ichigo to move in first and open up for Rukia, who would then aim straight for its mask. They looked at each other and nodded, unsheathing their weapons.

Ichigo slipped out from the shelter of the shadows and into the line of fire. "Hay! Ugly!" Ichigo yelled as if they weren't in a battle, Rukia probably would have laughed if weren't for that reason either. The hollow turned around and looked at Ichigo before letting out another ear-splintering roar.

Ichigo didn't waste any time in attacking and Rukia moved into position, waiting for an opening to strike. She watched intently as Ichigo swung Zangetsu back and forth, weighing every attack instead of attacking blindly. It wasn't the first time that Rukia had noticed how much Ichigo had grown up since their first fated encounter. He could barely lift his Zanpaktō back then.

She was so caught up in her sudden moment of nostalgia that Rukia almost missed her opportunity. Ichigo had swung his sword high enough that the hollow had left his chest and head open for a clean death.

She lunged forward, Sode no Shirayuki extended at its target. As she got closer she was finally able to see the hollow's mask. Her heart skipped a beat and it felt as if her blood was being replaced by fire. _Not now_ she thought too herself, but she couldn't stop it. The world started to slow down before her eyes and all she could hear was the sound of her escalated heartbeat.

She watched as the hollow threw Ichigo off and spun around, slamming its tail into Rukia. Two of the shards sunk into her flesh, but Rukia barely noticed it, barely had control over her own body. With the last of the power she had over her own body, Rukia grabbed hold of the hollow's tail, drawing its attention to her and away from Ichigo, giving him a chance to do what Rukia couldn't.

And unlike her, Ichigo didn't hesitate. In one smooth motion he plunged his sword into the hollow's mask, shattering it completely. He didn't wait for the hollow to disintegrate either, he was already pulling Rukia into his arms and out of harm's way.

"What the hell, Rukia?" Ichigo asked as they flash stepped away from the disappearing hollow. Rukia didn't answer, but felt herself falling back into paralyses. She gasp and started shaking in Ichigo's arms, before letting out a blood-curdling scream that echoed over the city.

"Uru… hara" Rukia panted before the next wave hit. Ichigo didn't ask anything after that, only moved as fast as he possibly could.

They landed roughly in front of Uruhara's house and Ichigo ran forward, letting go of Rukia's legs, and threw open the door. "Uruhara! Help!" he yelled into the empty shop. Barely a second had passed before Uruhara burst through the back door, took one look at Rukia's shaking form and told Ichigo to bring her into the back.

"Put her down one the floor and keep her down" Uruhara ordered before disappearing. Ichigo did as told, but it was getting harder and harder. Rukia screamed again, unable to keep it in. It wasn't the pain, they pain she could handle, it was what came with the pain that she couldn't stop and it frustrated her.

"Rukia!" Ichigo yelled as he threw himself over her, using his hands to keep her arms on the ground. "Look at me!" he demanded, and Rukia did. Ichigo went dead silent when their eyes met, but Rukia didn't know why, and at that moment, she didn't care either.

Uruhara came back into the room, caring a syringe in one hand. "Keep her down" Uruhara said and Ichigo strengthened his already death-grip on Rukia. Uruhara sat down next to them and tapped the glass syringe before bringing it down to Rukia's neck.

The moment Uruhara plunged it into her neck, Rukia let out another cry, but it sounded anything but human. Ichigo stared down at her and the expression on his face broke her heart before she slipped into a deep, dark, dreamless sleep.

He was scared, terrified… of her.

"Ugh" Rukia muttered as she opened her eyes. She had barely sat upright when memories started to flood her mind. She cringed at the thought of how she let it take over, even though she had tried to supress it.

She sunk her head into her hands and noticed she was back in her human body.

A rustling made her look up. Ichigo was sitting across the room from her, looking sternly at her. "Guess I have a few things to explain" Rukia said, her voice coming out a little horse from all the screaming she had done. Ichigo beckoned with his hand for her to continue, moving so that he was sitting at the end of her futon.

"A few weeks before I left I was called in by the Head-Captain. He told me off an unbalance in Hell that was supposedly being caused by a prisoner. The only problem was that no one was able to find this prisoner, not even the Kushanadā. The Soul Society decided to form a task force, one that would go down and find this person. They asked me to lead the expedition, because I had been there before and Rengi was already away on another mission.

After going through the material they had given me, I agreed, since it would only be for two months, but as you know, it took a little bit longer. After we arrived at the lower level, we almost instantly found the prisoner. We were fighting so blindly that we didn't notice where it was taking us. I barely had time to stop everyone before we followed the prisoner through a warp.

I don't know what it was, I guess it was where he was hiding, but inside time flowed differently, like inside the tunnel when you travel from the Soul Society to the human world. Anyway, we were stuck in there for four years until I was finally able to kill the rogue prisoner." Rukia said softly, looking up to see Ichigo's response.

He stared at her, wanting to say something, but not know what to say. "I was stuck down there for five years in total. I lost about 80% of my men, had to listen to their dying cries and watch them suffer over and over again." Rukia put her hands against her ears, as if speaking about them made it start again.

Ichigo moved closer and put his hand on her shoulder. "That explains the hair and panic attack, but I still don't understand what happened with the hollow" Ichigo said softly, not wanting to sound rude.

Uruhara walked in then, "I think I can explain that." Both Ichigo and Rukia looked up at him. "Rukia, dear, do you mind lifting you shirt?" Uruhara asked, but in a voice that immediately told them both that he was being serious.

Ichigo looked at Rukia curiously and she sighed, "When we finally caught up to the prisoner, it took almost all of the remaining men to subdue him. The battle was one of the toughest I've ever fought" Rukia started to say as she stood up, Ichigo helping her. "At one point I was able to get close to the man, I thought I'd be able to use my speed against his size, but it backfired when he suddenly ducked.

"I wasn't sure what was happening, but the next thing I knew there was a blinding pain in my side. It went away the moment I got the man off me, so I didn't pay much attention to it." Once Rukia could stand on her own she pulled up her shirt, revealing an oval shaped scar just above her hip bone.

"He bit you" Ichigo said, reaching out to touch it. His fingers had already circled the mark before he realised how he was touching her. "Sorry" he muttered, but Rukia simply dropped her shirt back down.

Uruhara cleared his throat and they moved away from each other. "My theory is that the man wasn't just you ordinary prisoner, he was something called a Hebi no otoko, or Snake man. There aren't many of them left in Hell, but when I prisoner is attacked by one of the Kushanadā and survives, they become poisoned. As I said, this happens rarely. If this person was to bite someone then that person becomes infected as well."

Ichigo seemed to be taking all the information in, but it was clear that he was struggling. Rukia didn't understand it all that well herself.

"From what I can tell, the poison of one of these Snake men doesn't have any negative effects on people who are from Hell. It's like they have an immunity against it" Uruhara explained further.

"What happens to the infected person if they're not from Hell?" Ichigo asked. Rukia and Uruhara looked at each other, wondering who would tell him. Finally Rukia decided to try and explain it to Ichigo.

"There's never been a case where a Soul Reaper was bitten by a Snake man, so there's no actual way to know what will happen to me" Rukia said, pausing before she took a deep breath. "But…" she tried to say, obviously having a hard time getting the words out. Uruhara touched her arm and smiled down at her.

"From what I can tell, Rukia's path can go one of two ways. Either the poison will work its way out of her system" Uruhara said, a grave look crossing his face.

"Or Rukia will die."

* * *

><p><strong>I hope this made some sense and isn't as far fetched as I think it is... Please let me know if you understand it or if I should try and make it easier to understand xx<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

They got home very late that night, neither talking about the news Ichigo had learned. Rukia thought it was because Ichigo didn't have anything so say about it, but when she woke up around three in the morning to go to the bathroom, Rukia heard that Ichigo was awake.

She pushed the slide door open just enough for her to see through her one eye.

Ichigo was sitting on his bed, one arm leaning out of the open window. He held the syringe Uruhara had given him (just in case Rukia had another glitch) in his one hand and was staring at it intently. She watched with bated breath as he lifted it up and pressed his forehead to it.

"Why?" he asked quietly, obviously not wanting to wake her. Tears started to roll down his face, dripping onto his bare chest, not that Rukia was paying much attention to that, her thoughts were elsewhere…

_Two human years ago:_

_"Here you go, Rukia" Rangiku said as she handed Rukia some sake. She knew she had to stop drinking or else she wouldn't get to bed on time, but she had decided she would enjoy the night to its fullest before she had left for the restaurant after her shift was done._

_"Thanks" she said and accepted the drink, taking a sip before looking out over the long table. It was the day before she left on her mission and everyone had decided that they would throw her a goodbye party, even if she was only supposed to be away for two months._

_It took her a while to realise that someone was missing from the crowd of people. She got up and slipped from the room, her head spinning a little as she looked for Ichigo._

_She found him in an empty room, sitting on the ground in front of a window, drinking from his own bottle of sake._

_"Ichigo?" she asked, stepping into the room. "O, it's you Rukia" Ichigo said, looking at her for a moment before turning to stare out of the window, the moon's light illuminating his features. _

_"What're you doing up here? Everyone's down stairs" she continued as she walked across the room and sat down in front of him, also staring out the window at the busy street below. The Soul Society's night life was thriving as usual._

_"I felt a little claustrophobic" Ichigo said simply, continuing to look at nothing in particular, as long as it wasn't Rukia. _

_"Okay Ichigo, what's wrong? You're never like this when there's a party" Rukia said matter of factly, reaching out to grab his chin and pulled it in her direction. Ichigo seemed shocked by her direct contact, well direct contact that didn't involve pain. He almost instantly noticed that she had already had too much to drink. _

_"Don't you think it's a little weird that everyone's celebrating you leaving" Ichigo said finally, his directness a perfect indicator that he wasn't exactly sober either. Rukia looked at him for a second before bursting out in laughter. Ichigo scowled when she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her stomach. _

_"Rukia, how much have you had to drink?" Ichigo asked and Rukia looked up at him, cocking her one eyebrow. "Probably as much as you" she retorted, crossing her arms in front of her chest._

_"Well I've had a lot to drink, but the difference is that I can hold my alcohol" Ichigo said, taking a swig straight from the bottle he had picked up. "O yeah, wanna bet?" Rukia asked, reaching out to grab the bottle from him. _

_Ichigo leaned back just as Rukia leaned forward, keeping the bottle out of her reach. "Midgets shouldn't have so much to drink" Ichigo said as he used his free arm to hold her back. They fought like this, throwing insults at each other._

_After about ten minutes of this Ichigo's hand slipped from Rukia's shoulder and she used the moment to grab the bottle, or she would have if Ichigo hadn't lost his grip on it just as her fingers touched it._

_The bottle fell to the ground, not breaking, but all the sake leaking out._

_Ichigo, now on his back, looked up at Rukia as she stared at the bottle, not even trying to do something about it. Finally she shook her head and looked down at Ichigo, their eyes locking. Neither of them looked away, caught up in a moment where they were the only ones._

_"I'm scared" Rukia whispered and Ichigo knew she was talking about the mission._

_Slowly he lifted his hand and wrapped it around her waist, pulling her down onto him. "I know, Hell's a pretty scary place" he whispered into her hair. "Just remember that even if things are hard down there, you'll always be able to call if you need me. I'll go to hell and back for you Rukia" Ichigo said._

_Rukia pushed herself up into a sitting position, shocked sober by Ichigo's words. He took his time, but sat up as well, not once looking away from her. Rukia's breath caught in her throat as Ichigo leaned closer. They sat like that for a while, Ichigo leaning over Rukia between his legs, touching his forehead to hers._

_"And if you don't call, just know that I'll be up here waiting for you" he breathed before he closed the distance between their lips, kissing her softly._

_Rukia lifted her arms and wrapped it around his neck, weaving her fingers into his soft orange hair. _

_After a while they pulled away, but didn't move apart. Instead they stayed in each other's arms, even as the party raged on, even as they heard people calling for them, even when everyone started leaving…_

Rukia watched Ichigo until he put the syringe down and went back to sleep. By then she had long forgotten that she needed the bathroom, instead she lay her head down so that she could still see Ichigo through the crack in the door and fell asleep.

A few weeks passed where nothing much happened. Ichigo and Rukia had agreed that they wouldn't tell anyone about her condition until they needed to, they didn't even speak about it.

Rukia and Hana started spending more time together, Ichigo even became the third-wheel sometimes.

It was almost time for Ichigo and the other, except Orihime who was attending a culinary school in Karakura and Chad who was studying at the University of Karakura, to go back to Tokyo. Rukia knew that she had to return to the Soul Society at some point, but the thought made her stomach churn.

One afternoon, after one of her regular check-ups, Rukia walked into the living room at the Kurosaki residence and almost dropped her new medicine when she found Hana there.

"O, Rukia" Hana said as if there was nothing strange about the situation.

"Hana… hi, um, Ichigo and everyone else is out today" Rukia said, setting down her medicine on the table. Hana stood up and walked over to Rukia, glancing for a second at the packets on the table, but didn't let her gaze linger.

"I actually want to talk with you" Hana said, causing Rukia to freeze for a second. "Me?" Rukia asked, turning her back on Hana and going over to the fridge. She opened the door and pulled out a bottle of fruit juice before setting it down on the counter before getting a glass.

"Yeah, I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but I wanted to know what your relationship with Ichigo was before you left" she said, almost causing Rukia to choke on the juice. She coughed a few times, her face becoming red as a tomato. She just hoped that Hana assumed it was the lack of oxygen causing it.

"Me and Ichigo?" Rukia asked after she got her breath back. "We were simply good friends Hana, I promise." Technically it wasn't a lie, maybe not the whole truth, but not a lie. Sure, she and Ichigo kissed, but their relationship hadn't really changed from friends, had it?

Hana seemed relieved by her answer, "I'm glad. I really like Ichigo and I really think we could be good for each other." There it was again, the painful lurch in Rukia's stomach. "Yeah, he looks very happy when you're together" Rukia forced the words out from between her lips, even though they tasted like acid.

"I'm glad to hear you say that" Hana said with a smile. "Um, Rukia, I was wondering if you'd maybe like to come stay with me while we're in Tokyo?" Hana asked and Rukia looked at her with a curious expression.

"I know we're not best friends or anything, but everyone will be gone next week and you'll have to stay here alone" Hana explained quickly, "I thought you might want to come with us instead, I have an extra bedroom in my apartment"

Rukia was touched by Hana's offer, so touched that for a moment she was happy that Ichigo had picked Hana and not another girl. She smiled at Hana, "That would actually be very nice, but I'd feel bad for sponging off you" Rukia said.

"No problem, my dad already said it was okay" Hana said, smiling even bigger. She looked so incredibly giddy that even Rukia couldn't help the smiled that slipped onto her face.

Rukia sighed, "Fine, then I'd love to stay with you."

Hana let out a happy squeal and wrapped her arms around Rukia just as the front door opened and Ichigo came around the bend. He saw the sight in front of him and gave them a questioning glance, but let them have their moment.

Hana and Rukia looked at each other and laughed. Ichigo put some grocery bags down and Hana let go of Rukia, walking over to his side. He smiled down at her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder before leaning down to kiss her on the forehead.

Rukia watched as Hana tipped her head upwards, obviously expecting the kiss, and their lips met. It was at that moment that Rukia decided that she would let him go, let the feelings she had so long denied go. He was happy and that was all that mattered to her.

She watched them a little longer, and with every smile, every laugh and every kiss, Rukia's feelings started to fade away.

"Is that everything?" Ichigo asked as Rukia lugged the last bag from the house.

With a heave she through the bag at him, almost as if throwing a javelin. "Heads up!" she yelled, but only after the bag knocked Ichigo to the ground. "The hell, Rukia?!" Ichigo yelled as he jumped up, a red mark where the bag had hit his face.

Rukia laughed and jumped into the passenger seat, leaning over to lock the car from the inside. "This isn't funny Rukia" Ichigo's muffled cries came from outside. After a few extra words, Ichigo stomped back into the house and Rukia sat back with a victorious grin on her face.

She knew Ichigo usually took his time when he was mad so she decided she would listen to some music while she waited. It wasn't until she tried to turn it on that she noticed the keys weren't in the car, but by then it was too late.

She heard the familiar sound of the car being unlocked and was about to reach over and lock it again when her door was yanked open. Ichigo leaned in, grabbed Rukia around the waist and pulled her into the cold air outside.

She yelped as he spun her around before throwing her over his shoulder, "Don't think you can get away without cleaning your part of the room" he said as he walked back to his room with her.

About an hour later they finally left.

Yuzu waved after them while Karin just went back inside. Mr. Kurosaki on the other hand had pulled a handkerchief out from who knows where and was waving it in the air, practically sobbing.

Ichigo had told her to get comfortable, because it would be a while until they reached Tokyo. Rukia would be staying with him until Hana joined them in about a week.

While Ichigo drove, Rukia decided to see what music he had on his iPod, which was connected to the car's radio. "You probably won't know most of them" Ichigo said, causing her to jump in her seat. "O, um, yeah, I figured that much" Rukia said and pressed shuffle on the screen.

The first song that came up was something called 'To Build a Home' and Rukia vaguely recognised it. It was a beautiful, so much so that when it started to rain, Rukia felt like she wanted to cry. Instead she turned up the volume.

They listen to music the whole way to the city, talking, or more like screaming, above the sound since Rukia refused to lower the volume.

After the how many-ith song ended, Rukia remembered there was a song she had wanted to listen to, one that Karin had told her about.

She scanned through Ichigo's song list, smiling to herself when she found the song she had been looking for. Karin had described it as the "Embodiment of the new generation." "What're you smiling about?" Ichigo asked nervously. "Shh" Rukia silenced him as she pressed on the song. There was a moment of silence before Anaconda started to burst from the speakers.

Rukia and Ichigo rode in silence even after the song had ended.

"What… did I… just listen?" Rukia asked Ichigo, feeling the need to shower. Ichigo laughed at her before looking back at the road when he almost drove off the road. "What was that man saying? Something about an anaconda… What does that even mean?" Rukia asked, more to herself than to Ichigo.

"Welcome back Rukia, you're officially part of this world again" Ichigo said, still not completely composed.

It was moment like this that Rukia enjoyed, there weren't many of them in the Soul Society. She watched as Ichigo tried to stop laughing, and also tried to wipe the song's lyrics from her mind, but some things just couldn't be unheard.

"O, here we are" Ichigo said and Rukia looked up. Ichigo watched as Rukia stared at the buildings towering over them. Karakura may have a few large buildings, but none of them came close to Tokyo's. Rukia touched her window before whispering something Ichigo barely heard.

"Yeah, here we are."

* * *

><p><strong>You! Yes you, random reader. I would like to thank you for reading my fanfiction, but I die a little inside if I don't get reviews. Reviews are my motivation and I need as much as I can get since I'm as lazy as a cat on a hot day. So please, motivate me.<strong>

**I'm sorry that not much happened on this chapter! I'll try to bring some more action in in the next one. At least you got some Ichiruki time, which I hope was heart-shatteringly beautiful... Like I said, I hope so.**

**xx**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

"Rukia, you lazy shrimp, get out of my bed" Ichigo grumbled as he poked Rukia repeatedly in the side. A sigh came from where Ichigo presumed was her mouth, but he couldn't tell thanks to her hair covering her face.

It's been two days since they arrived and Rukia had already made Ichigo's apartment home. The first night they had gotten into an argument over who got the bed, and decided to play a game of rock, paper, and scissors to determine the winner.

Ichigo decided he had no other options left, he'd have to move to more desperate methods. Quietly he walked to the other side of the bed, now careful not to wake her. During the night she had managed to wrapped the blanket around her in such a way that the two side were on the left side of the bed, while she and the rest were on the right.

Ichigo pulled the two sides together and threw them to her side. He then moved to pull the top side tight around her, almost as if sealing her in a cocoon made of blankets. Rukia opened her eyes and when she tried to move, she realised she was trapped.

"Baka?! What're you doing?!" she yelled as Ichigo hoisted her over his shoulder and moved her over to the couch in the living room. "I'm waking you, it's almost eleven, a friend of mine is coming over and you need to look like you're not living here" Ichigo said while Rukia tried to wiggle herself free from her restraints.

"And who, may I ask, is this friend?" Rukia asked once she was finally free.

"We have some of our classes together, his name is Daniel… something" Ichigo said. Rukia gave him a look and he shrugged, "What? You know I'm not good with names and faces." Rukia put her palm to her forehead before picking up the blanket and carrying it back to Ichigo's room.

She was dressed fifteen minutes later, nothing fancy, but enough to look decent in case she found their visitor a bit more than attractive.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ichigo asked as Rukia planted herself back on the couch. "I'm sitting down" Rukia said slowly, not really getting why he asked.

"No, you need to go-" Ichigo said desperately, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Rukia and Ichigo looked at each other, but Rukia was closer to the door than Ichigo. He looked at her with a don't-you-dare-open-that-door look, but it was too late.

"Hello? Who is it?" Rukia asked through the door.

"Hi, my name is Daniel, I'm looking for Ichigo Kurosaki, but I think I have the wrong apartment" the guy, Daniel, said. Rukia quickly unbolted the safety chain and unlocked the door. "Come in, Ichigo's in the kitchen" Rukia said before opening the door completely, giving Ichigo time to retreat to the kitchen.

Daniel stepped into the living room, starting to tug his scarf off.

Rukia looked him over, very pleased with what she was seeing. Why wouldn't she be, he was pretty damn hot actually, even if he was clearly not Japanese, maybe American.

"O, you're not Hana" Daniel said once he got a good look at Rukia, and he definitely did not look disappointed.

"Yeah, sorry, my name's Rukia Kuchiki" Rukia said, extending her hand. He took it and shook it firmly, "Daniel Masters" he said. Rukia took the moment to get a better look. The first thing that caught her attention was his piercing blue eyes, even if his light brown hair was hanging over it a little.

He was smaller than Ichigo, but they were built similarly. "Daniel" Ichigo said, interrupting their moment. Daniel let go of Rukia's hand and moved to greet his friend. They did a typical male hug, where you grabbed each other's hand and then moved in for a hug with a slap on the back.

"I was just making coffee, would you like some?" Ichigo asked as Daniel sat down. "O, yeah, that would be great" Daniel said, but Ichigo didn't miss the fact that he couldn't take his eyes off Rukia where she sat on the chair across from him.

"Some tea would be nice" Rukia said, even though Ichigo hadn't offered anything to her. Ichigo whispered something about her under his breath, but didn't refuse her request.

"So, Daniel, where're you from?" Rukia asked, trying to make casual conversation with him. "I'm not really from anywhere" Daniel said and laughed. "My parents are medical scientist, so I've lived pretty much everywhere in the world" he explained.

Rukia sat up a little straighter, intrigued. "Where did you live before coming to Tokyo?" she asked, genuinely wanting to know.

"O, I've been in Tokyo for a while now, but I lived in Africa before" Daniel said and laughed when he saw the expression she made. "Come on, Africa's wonderful. I'll tell you about it sometime" he said, his tone implying something more.

Ichigo came back at that moment, carrying a tray with three cups on it. He placed one in front of Daniel and placed the tray in front of Rukia before sitting down in the chair next to her.

"So, how do you two know each other?" Daniel asked, taking a sip from his cup.

"She's my cousin", "We're old friends" Rukia and Ichigo said together, realising their mistake at the same time. "I'm an old friend of his cousin" Rukia said without hesitating. "Yeah, and since I'm pretty close with me cousin, Rukia and I are also old friends" Ichigo said, a nervous laugh escaping his lips.

Rukia continued to smile, but on the inside she wanted to slap him.

"Makes sense, but does Hana know?" Daniel asked, confirming Rukia's suspicions that he didn't believe their story. "Yes, she's aware that I'm staying here" Rukia said, stirring the milk and sugar in her tea.

Ichigo just nodded and Rukia was glad that he finally decided to keep his mouth shut.

"Cool, so about the research material Ichigo" Daniel continued as if nothing had happened. "Does tomorrow sound like a good day to come check it out? My dad will be there then, and you'll be able to ask him questions."

Ichigo perked up next to Rukia, going from nervous to excited in five seconds flat.

"Yeah, that would be great" Ichigo said before turning to Rukia. "Do you think you'll be able to keep yourself busy for a few hours tomorrow?" he asked, and Rukia was about to tell him that she wasn't some kid, but Daniel interrupted.

"I could always keep you busy? If you don't mind anyway?" he asked, and to Rukia's surprise, Ichigo almost dropped his cup of coffee. He apologised and Rukia turned back to Daniel, "That sounds nice, I haven't been around Tokyo for a long time" Rukia said, putting on one of her best smiles.

"Perfect, every thing's sorted then. I'll see you guys at my house tomorrow at eleven?" Daniel asked Ichigo, but Rukia was the one that agreed. They spoke a while longer, well, Rukia and Daniel did ost of the speaking. About an hour later Ichigo saw Daniel out, but Rukia didn't miss the glance that he threw over his shoulder at her.

Ichigo closed the door and leaned with his back against it. "Where did that come from?" Ichigo asked, sounding almost angry at Rukia. "What? I'm not allowed to talk to your friends?" Rukia asked, finishing her cup of tea.

"Yeah, pretty much" Ichigo said, even though he knew he sounded immature. "Ichigo, you're being stupid" Rukia said, getting up and collecting all the cups. Ichigo sighed and moved away from the door to help her.

"I know, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me just now" he said, taking the tray from her and putting it in the kitchen. "Isn't time for your medicine?" Ichigo asked when he saw the little box sitting on the kitchen table.

Rukia looked at the clock on the wall. "Not really, but it won't make a difference" Rukia said as she joined him in the kitchen.

She took the box and opened it, popping one pill from its encasement. She hated taking the medicine, it tasted badly and the after effect while the pill dissolved was painful. It only took her the first time to figure out that she shouldn't drink it in front of other people, but Ichigo didn't give her much of a choice as he handed her a glass of water.

She put the pill in her mouth and swallowed, hoping that it wouldn't be as bad since she was getting used to it. The moment it was down her throat she knew she was wrong. She put both hands on the counter and tried to stay upright. It basically felt like she was getting intense cramps, and the slight feeling off internal burning.

Ichigo noticed how tense she looked and put a hand on her shoulder. "Rukia?" he asked.

Rukia took a deep breath and felt the pain starting to fade away. "I'm okay" she said between breaths, "The medicine just takes its toll on me is all."

Then Ichigo did something completely unexpected.

He wrapped his arms around her from behind so that her back was pressed against his chest. "I'll find a way to make you better" he said into her hair, a gesture so sincere that it moved her to tears.

Rukia lifted her hands and put in on his arms, her head turning into his shoulder. Both of them knew it was wrong, that they weren't allowed to be that close to each other, but the moment was so pure that neither of them pulled away.

It didn't mean anything more than when a brother consoled his sister, or that's what Rukia convinced herself anyway.

"I know you will" Rukia whispered and she felt Ichigo's arms tighten around her. "You always find a way to get what you want Ichigo, this time won't be any different."

They jumped apart when Ichigo's phone rang, more out of surprise than guilt.

"What do you want now?" Ichigo asked with an annoyed voice, making Rukia wonder who was on the other end of the line. He paced the room while the other person talked.

"Yeah, I guess we could do that" Ichigo said finally before taking the phone away from his ear and looking at Rukia. "You think we could go to Daniel's house today? He says his dad had a last minute meeting tomorrow" he asked and Rukia nodded, she didn't have any plans for the day.

"We'll come over in a bit" Ichigo said, then pressed the end call on his phone. They finished breakfast together before getting ready to go out.

Rukia slipped into the bathroom and started putting on some of the make-up that Hana and Orihime had given her, it wasn't really her thing, but it couldn't hurt to look nice. "Rukia, move you but!" Ichigo called from the living room, ready to leave.

"Comin'" she called from the bathroom, applying the last bit of mascara, she hadn't quite mastered not blinking while she applied it. "Where does Daniel live" Rukia asked as she grabbed her jacket and put her boots on.

"Not far from here, so we're walking" Ichigo said, ushering Rukia outside and locking behind them. Rukia was about to ask something, but then she noticed the first pieces of white floating down from the sky. It was a few flights of stairs to the bottom, but Rukia practically flew down them, only stepping on every second or third step.

"Snow!" Rukia exclaimed, lifting her hands to catch it, watching as it melted in her palms. She had always loved snow, or just about in form of frozen water. Ichigo soon joined her, but only shook his head at Rukia's childlike joy.

Ichigo, on the other hand, wasn't all that fond of the cold. When everything was practically black and white, Ichigo tended to stand out more than he wanted to.

"Come on, midget, we don't want to leave the nice doctor waiting" Ichigo said and Rukia pouted as she fell in step next to him.

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><p><strong>Wow, I'm pretty quick with this story, even if I have to say so myself. Thanks for reading my newest chapter of Rukia's Requiem, I hope you look forward to the next one! O, I would also just like to add for future reference, I don't know all that much (and with that I mean nothing at all) about Tokyo. I promise I'll do some research, but if anyone knows of a classy, high-end restaurant in the city, please PM me :) I'll give you a shout out in the next chapter!<strong>

**Please Review**

**xx**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

"So, where'd you like to go Rukia?" Daniel asked.

Rukia looked out the window in Daniel's living room. You could see most of Tokyo from where they were. "Um, I don't know, where would you propose we go?" Rukia asked, not taking her eyes from the view.

Ichigo's apartment was nothing like Daniel's. Where Ichigo only stayed in it when he was attending school, Daniel and his parents lived in theirs permanently. And they were rich. Very, very rich.

Ichigo had disappeared somewhere with Daniel's dad, doctor Masters, which had left Rukia alone with Daniel for the rest of the day. "How about we go have lunch somewhere? I know a nice little place in the city" he suggested.

"Sure, sounds great" Rukia said, finally paying some attention to Daniel again. "I'll give them a call to make a reservation, if you want to know some more about it, I've got it bookmarked on the computer over there" Daniel said and Rukia looked in the direction he was pointing.

In the corner of the living room stood a desk with a very modern looking computer. She walked over to it once Daniel had left the room, moving the mouse until the screen came to life. It took her a while to realise that the button that said 'safari' was the internet.

"Okay" she said to herself as she scanned through the bookmarked sites, finding that there was only one restaurant site. She clicked on it and the restaurants main page popped onto the screen.

Rukia swallowed and looked down at what she was wearing, immediately noticing that she was severely underdressed. The site even had a notice that said "Suite and Tie mandatory", which made her even more nervous.

"You like it?" a voice asked over her shoulder, causing Rukia to jump. "O, Daniel, yeah…" Rukia said half-heartedly, not knowing how she didn't hear him come in. "You don't sound very happy" Daniel said, stepping away to get a better look at her. "No, I'm happy" Rukia said, waving her hands in front of her, "I just don't think I'd fit in there."

Daniel looked down on her, for the first time noticing what she was wearing. "I see what you mean" he said. "How about we go there for dinner instead and I take you out to get something nice to wear?" he asked, snapping his fingers in a light-bulb-moment kind of way.

"What? No way, I can't let you buy me something" Rukia said, standing her ground.

"Okay, then let's make a deal" he said, a smirk spreading over his face. When Rukia didn't object, he continued. "If I can beat you at one thing, you have to let me buy you something" Daniel said, "I'll even let you pick the challenge."

Rukia looked at him suspiciously, before saying "Anything?"

"Anything."

"Okay, Masters, you have a deal" Rukia said before extending her hand. "Deal, what's you challenge, Kuchiki" Daniel said as he took his hand in hers. Rukia didn't hesitate, "Fighting. First person to land three blows wins" Rukia said.

For a second she thought Daniel might back out and tell her she's crazy, but then he smiled. "Game on." Daniel was quickly able to clear the living room, leaving a lot of space for sparring in the centre of the room. He had also used sheets to set up a circle, where after an out of bounds rule was set.

They quickly took of their shoes, Rukia also removing her extra pieces of clothing before tying her hair back.

They took their spots across from each other, readying themselves. Rukia knew that technically she had an unfair advantage, but she hadn't missed the trophies and photographs when she came into the apartment. They were fighting trophies and photos of Daniel with a black belt.

"You sure about this?" Daniel asked, noticing her sudden lack of attention. "I should be asking you that" Rukia said, rolling her neck once. "Okay, then let's do this thing" Daniel said, still finishing his sentence as he attacked.

Rukia easily dodged his arm, not wasting time to deliver a soft, but definite blow to his side with her leg. "That's one for me" Rukia said, stepping back, but not letting her guard down. Daniel looked at her, obviously having underestimated her.

Without a sound Rukia lunged, her fist aimed straight at his arm. Daniel dodged, spinning around so that he could face her again. Rukia realised he was analysing her, trying to figure out her fighting style. She didn't plan on giving him the chance, and that's when both of them got serious.

"One all"

"Two, one"

"Two all"

Half an hour had passed and by then both Rukia and Daniel were breathing heavily. When Daniel took his stance, Rukia noticed an opening. She pushed herself forward, but at the last moment she ducked, sliding between his legs.

She stopped herself and jumped up before Daniel could completely turn around. By then Rukia had spun, kicking out with her leg, but stopped inches away from his throat. "I win" Rukia said.

Daniel looked at her, but didn't say anything, simply pointed to the ground. She looked down, her eyes widening when she saw she was standing on one of the sheets.

Before Rukia could react, Daniel kicked her leg out from under her. Rukia braced herself for impact, but Daniel wrapped his arms around her waist before she hit the ground.

He looked into her eyes, freeing his one hand and placing it on her cheek- the final blow. "I win" he said.

They looked at each other sternly before Rukia sighed, "A deal is a deal" she said, but Daniel didn't let her go.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Ichigo asked as he and doctor Masters stepped into the living room. Daniel stepped away from Rukia, taking his sweet damn time about it. "Nothing, just getting my ass handed to me" Daniel said and Rukia could practically feel the tension between them.

"This one sure has some spunk in her" he continued, but Ichigo was already heading for the front door. "Come on Rukia, we're leaving" he said in Rukia's direction. "Thank you, doctor Masters" he said, waiting for Rukia to join him.

"No can do, Ichigo, Rukia here lost our little challenge" Daniel said, "Isn't that right Rukia?" he asked her directly. She looked from him to Ichigo and then back again. "Yeah, sorry Ichigo" she said, not able to look him in the eye.

"Fine, whatever, not my problem. Just don't come home too late" Ichigo said before leaving the room, thanking doctor Masters once again and waving goodbye at Daniel and Rukia.

"Good" Daniel said, "Guess we should get going as well."

They redressed and stepped out into the hall. "Do you mind walking in the snow?" he asked Rukia once they walked out onto the busy street, the cold air cooling them both after their little match. "No problem" she said, trying to hide her excitement.

Rukia didn't like the idea of someone buying things for her, it made her uncomfortable, but she had tried to stop him. The quickly reached a street filled with shops on both sides, and not little shops with cute dresses and hats. No, these were the shops where you didn't enter, because there was a bouncer in front of the door.

Daniel stepped into the first one and Rukia followed, awestruck by the clothes. Everything was arranged neatly according the colour and length, even the shoes. Rukia felt Daniel tug her to the nearest shelf, pulling out something he thought would suit her.

This continued for about three hours before they had some lunch, Rukia insisted it had to be at a vending machine, and then they continued to look for the rest of her outfit. They went back to the house about an hour before they had to be at the restaurant.

Rukia considered calling Ichigo to tell him she'd be home late, but decided against it in the end.

"You can get dressed in here" Daniel said, opening one of the doors in the hallway they were walking in. She thanked him and walked in, putting all her shopping bags down on the bed. She made quick work of undressing and slipping into the dress Daniels had bought her.

It was a tight midnight blue dress with a high collar and twisted back. She liked it, but it wasn't her favourite, she just didn't want Daniel paying the price of the others. After that she slipped into the plain black heels he had also insisted on.

She was quickly checking her make-up when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in" Rukia said politely and watched as a woman entered the room. She was probably in her forties, but beautiful didn't describe her. Rukia instantly knew it had to be Daniel's mother, they had the same colour hair.

"O dear, you really are as pretty as Daniel says" Daniel's mother said and before she knew what was happening, the woman had wrapped her arms around Rukia. "I'm so glad Daniel found himself a girl, I never thought I'd be able to get a daughter" she said and Rukia felt she was going to faint.

Daniel's mother realised she was suffocating Rukia and held her arm's length. "Sorry honey, I'm just very excited" she continued to yap, and Rukia couldn't help that there were certain similarities between her and Ichigo's dad.

"Mom?!" Daniel asked as he burst into the room, seeing a very dilapidated Rukia.

"I'm so sorry Rukia" he said as he pulled his mom away. "Mom, stop this, she's only a friend" he said and his mom looked between him and Rukia. "Friend, go it" she said, raising her hand to the side of her mouth and winking at Daniel, trying, but not succeeding, to be inconspicuous.

Daniel face palmed himself, and Rukia watched as a blush spread across his face.

"Okay, I'll give you two friends some time alone" she said before bounding from the room, emphasising the word friends.

"I'm sorry, my mom can…" Daniel started to say, but trailed off when he saw her. Somehow, for those few minutes since his mom had come in, Daniel had changed. He went from being an airhead to a normal guy. Rukia preferred the latter.

"You look beautiful" he said, so soft it sounded like a whisper. Against Rukia's will, her heart gave a little jolt. _No_, Rukia thought, _this is good, this is progress_. "You clean up pretty well yourself" Rukia said, giving him a once over.

"Of course" he said, his cocky side returning. He looked at her one more time before turning and offering her his arm. Rukia sighed before accepting his arm and grabbed her coat before they left for the restaurant.

The arrived at the restaurant just in time. Daniel helped her from his car before they walked up the steps and into the fancy restaurant. One of the waiters quickly escorted them to their table and offered them some wine before giving them their menus.

It wasn't until she opened the menus that she sent a prayer of thanks to Byakuya for raising her as strict as he had. To any normal person, they menu might as well have been in French. They discussed what they were having until the waiter came back with a bottle of wine and poured them each a glass.

"So, tell me about Africa" Rukia said once Daniel had finished ordering for them. Daniel quickly fell into a story about his encounter with a lion, and to Rukia's surprise, she actually enjoyed the story.

It only took her half the night to figure out when Daniel was being sincere and when he was trying to impress her. The only things she couldn't understand was why? He had a great personality when he wasn't putting on an act, so why hide it from her?

They talked about a lot of things until the night grew late. With every conversation, Rukia started to like Daniel more and more. She wouldn't say she was falling in love, but she did like him more than simply a friends, which struck her as strange since she only met him that day.

Rukia had always had a hard time connecting with people, but it felt so easy with Daniel, so normal. There was no talk of hollows, he didn't ask about her mission, he didn't look at her as if she might fall apart at any moment. Rukia liked the normalcy they had.

"So, tell me Rukia. What's your real relationship with Ichigo?" Daniel asked once their desert had been served. Rukia looked up at him, trying to act as if she didn't understand the question. "I don't know what you're talking about" she said before taking a bite of her chocolate cake.

"Both his parents were an only child, my father told me, which means he doesn't have any cousins" Daniel said, "Should I continue?"

They stared at each other, daring the other to say something. Finally Rukia sighed, a little impressed by him. "Okay, so maybe we're just old friends, without a family member in the way" Rukia said, looking down at her spoon.

"You're in love with him? Aren't you?"

Rukia's eyes shot up, giving Daniel all the answers he needed. "I was, I'm letting go now. He and Hana are good together, I'm not messing with that" she admitted out loud for the first time. Once again she found herself staring at her spoon. She didn't look up until she felt something resting on her free hand.

She looked up and found that Daniel had rested his hand on hers, a look of complete compassion in his stunning blue eyes. "I know it's hard" was all he said, but it was all he needed to say.

She smiled, a sad, but thankful smile.

"Oh, I am stuffed" Daniel said as they walked the last of the stairs to Ichigo's apartment.

Rukia looked at him, laughing at the way he was rubbing his stomach. Daniel noticed the way she was looking at him and raised an eyebrow, "What?" he asked.

"O, nothing, just thinking that I like this Daniel. The one that jokes, but then laughs at his own jokes" Rukia said as they reached Ichigo's number. "The one that trips over his own feet and gets excited about a lion attacking they're car, not the one that acts all high and mighty" she continued, but stopped when she saw the way he was looking at her.

"I'm sorry, I crossed a line" Rukia said when she realised she had said too much. She waited for him to say goodbye and leave, completely offended by what she had said.

She was about to bend down and get the key from where Ichigo always hid it, but before she could, Daniel pulled her into his arms.

"Let me help you, Rukia. I want to help you forget him" Daniel said, his head in the crook of her neck. Rukia stood still, completely shocked by his response. "Daniel…" she simply said, not wanting him to think that she was rejecting him.

"I know we only met today, and I know this is rash and unexpected, but I will treat you decent Rukia, I will love you the way you're supposed to be loved" he said. "You may not care about me that way now, but maybe one day you will."

Slowly he lifted his head, but didn't step away. "Let me help" he repeated before softly pressing his lips to hers.

When he pulled away they stared into each other's eyes.

"Okay" Rukia whispered, and Daniel kissed her again, both of them unaware of the person leaning against the other side of the door, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

Rukia watched as Daniel waved before climbing into his car and driving off. She lifted her hand and touched her still tingling lips, finding that they were smiling. She then set out to do what she was doing before her and Daniel's little escapade.

The key slipped into the lock and Rukia opened the door as quiet as possible, expecting Ichigo to be asleep.

Once inside, she closed the door and was about to look for the light switch, but the fact that she could see clearly stopped her. She turned around and found Ichigo sitting on the couch, a book in his hands.

"Had fun?" he asked without looking at her, but Rukia wasn't paying attention to that. "Where you eavesdropping on us?" she asked, rage starting to build up in her tiny body. Ichigo looked up, "What makes you think that?" he asked.

"You're holding the book upside down" Rukia said flatly before stripping off her jacket and hanging it on the hook. _He knows_, that was the only thing going through Rukia's mind as she slowly walked to where Ichigo was sitting. There was no way he didn't hear what Daniel had said about her feelings.

Ichigo remained seated, even when she stood in front of him. "So what if I heard?" he said, using a tone Rukia had never heard from him. It was monotoned, devoid of any emotion. Slowly he stood up and looked down at her, his eyes lingering on her a dress for a second.

Then he laughed, a sick, twisted laugh that sent shivers down Rukia's spine. "Wow, Rukia, I never knew you were the type of girl that only needed a new dress and a few nice words before she let a guy touch her" Ichigo said, but a loud cracked stopped him from saying anything else.

Slowly he reached up and touched the burning sensation on his cheek before looking down at Rukia's trembling body.

"May be, but at least the next time I see him, I know he won't have another girl with him" Rukia said before she walked into the bedroom and locked the door behind her.

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><p><strong>First off, I won't say "I'm sorry about the OOC-ish Ichigo", because I don't think it was all that much OOC. We all saw what happened to him when he lost his mother- a person who he loved a lot. So why wouldn't he act harshly towards Rukia? Sorry if that came out rude, I mean it nicely :)<strong>

**Rukia's dress: ** /look/229393

**So yeah, please review **

**xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, or any of its extremely attractive characters. I do however own Hana and Daniel, but they pale in comparison. **

**Thank you for supporting my story up until now, I really appreciate it :) From the next chapter on I might not be able to update as often, but please don't think I stopped writing the story. I'm starting university soon so think are a little hectic.**

**Thank so much and please review x**

* * *

><p>Chapter 8:<p>

The rest of their week together passed painstakingly slow. Ichigo and Rukia barely looked at each other, never mind spoke. Ichigo spent most of his days getting ready for school, or taking long walks whenever Rukia was there, which wasn't often.

Most of Rukia's time was spent with Daniel. She didn't let him kiss her again, because though harsh, Ichigo's words did have some truth to it. Rukia wasn't the type of girl who would let a guy kiss her that easily. She had explained to him that she was caught up in the moment, but that what she had said was true.

On the day of Hana's arrival, Rukia packed her things on carried them all to Ichigo's car, refusing his help when he offered. They rode to the airport in silence. Hana's father had refused to buy her a car, because her apartment was close to all the places she needed to be. Instead he paid for her flights when she needed to travel long distances.

"Ichigo! Rukia!" Hana exclaimed when the electronic doors opened and she saw them standing in the pick-up area, a good two spaced apart. She hugged Rukia first before kissing Ichigo. Rukia averted her gaze as their kiss became a bit more intense.

"Okay, let's go" Hana said with her usual chirpy voice. Ichigo took her bags and together they went back to his car.

"The spare room is over here" Hana said as she led Rukia to the room she'd be staying in. The apartment self wasn't big, a bit bigger than Ichigo's, but not big. Her room had a single bed, closet and desk in it. There was enough space for movement, but not much.

"Sorry, it's pretty small, but at least it's not a couch" Hana said, obviously assuming Rukia had slept on the couch while she was with Ichigo. "No, it's perfect" Rukia said with a smile before setting her things in the middle of the room. They went back to the living room, where Ichigo had made himself comfortable on the couch.

His phone rang and he looked at the screen before answering. "Daniel, what a surprise" he said, his sarcasm not going unnoticed by either of the girls. "Of course you want to, wait a sec" he said before throwing the phone at Rukia. She caught it without effort and lifted it to her ear.

"Rukia?" Daniel asked on the other side of the line. "Yeah, hi" Rukia said, stepping back so that Hana could go sit next to Ichigo. "I don't have much time, but a friend of mine just let me know that a new club opens tonight and he'd put us on the list of you'd like" Daniel said, speaking very quickly. "O, and by us I mean you, Ichigo and Hana. She got back today right?" he added.

"Yeah, we're at her place now, I'll ask them" Rukia said before lowering the phone. "Daniel wants to know if you guys would like to go out tonight. There's a club opening that his friend can get us tickets to."

Hana looked up, "That sounds nice, doesn't it? I haven't been out in a while" she said and looked at Ichigo. Ichigo thought about it for a moment before sighing, "Fine." Once again he didn't sound like he wanted to do it.

"We're in" Rukia said once she had the phone back in place.

"Great, I'll see you tonight at seven" he said before they said their goodbyes and Rukia handed Ichigo his phone back. "I didn't know you and Daniel were that close" Hana said to Ichigo, obviously not catching on.

"We're not. Rukia, on the other hand… well, guess you can ask her about that" Ichigo said, some anger returning to his voice. Hana looked at Rukia, "Rukia?" she asked with a confused voice. "We're good friends, that's all" Rukia said, since it was technically the truth.

"Yeah, cause friends often stand around making out" Ichigo said before Rukia could even finish her sentence. Rukia felt her hands clench involuntarily. She knew they needed to work through it, talk about it at least, but his pride and her stubbornness were getting in the way.

She was getting tired of fighting with Ichigo, it just made things harder since they were together a lot.

"You know what, at least I'm not making out with a strawberry" Rukia retorted, probing Ichigo for a response, "No offense Hana" Rukia said and Hana just smiled. Rukia could practically see the vain on Ichigo's forehead throbbing.

"O yeah, at least I don't have to bribe my girlfriend into liking me" he said, standing up to face her. "Or tell her about all the things I'll do for her, and then hopefully she'll love me one day" he continued and Rukia immediately saw things were taking a wrong turn.

"Stop talking about things you know nothing of" Rukia said, almost yelling.

"O, you think I don't know? Rukia, I'm a guy and I know how our type thinks. I might not be like that, but some guys are. They give you things and once they've had their fill, they leave you for the next pretty girl" Ichigo said, throwing his hands up at his sides.

"You're not? Could have fooled me!" Rukia said accidentally, before the realisation of her words hit her. She quickly looked at Hana, but was relieved to find that she hadn't understood. Ichigo seemed to have done the same, because the next thing he did was sit down, messaging his temples.

He was about to say something, but Rukia watched in confusion as his face went from tired to panicked. "Rukia… your nose" he said. Rukia reached up and touched her nose, her fingers coming back black red. Next thing she knew the world went black and her knees went out from under her.

She was fully aware of everything going on around her, but wasn't able to see or move.

"Hana, in her bag, get the box of pills!" she heard Ichigo order before his strong arms caught her. They sunk down to the ground and Ichigo pulled her into his lap. Pain started in the back of her head, spreading through her nervous system.

She vaguely heard Hana return before she was sent away again. "Okay, open… now… pills" she heard bits and pieces of what Ichigo was saying, but when something touched her lips she opened them. She felt something small being put into her mouth, followed by water.

She quickly swallowed and soon her vision returned, but the intense pain forced her to close her eyes. Ichigo pulled her into his chest while the pill dissolved into her blood, causing her to shake. "I'm sorry, Rukia, I'm sorry. Please, just be okay" he said, willing her to be better.

Slowly the pain subsided and Rukia opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Hana looking at her from behind Ichigo. Rukia reached up and touched the back of his head next to hers, signalling that he could let go of her.

Ichigo loosened his grip on her, which lowered her head away from his shoulder in turn. She stared into his eyes, which were bright with unshed tears. Rukia had only seen Ichigo cry a few times, and they were mostly because he though he lost something dear to him.

It was then that his actions and words fell into place. Ichigo loved her. She didn't get much time to pursue the thought though.

"Rukia!" Hana exclaimed as she fell to the ground next to the two of them. Rukia reached out and touched the other girl's hand, watching as tears dripped from her jaw and landed on the ground. "I don't understand" she muttered uncontrollably.

Rukia felt Ichigo move as her drew Hana closer, putting one arm around her as she sobbed into his shoulder.

Rukia recovered pretty quickly after that, only feeling lightheaded. On the other hand, it took them the entire afternoon to calm Hana down, who though Rukia was having some kind of a heart attack. She and Ichigo put together a story about Rukia having a genetic disease, but it was pretty hard lying to a medical student about an illness that doesn't exist.

At about 5 o'clock Rukia sat with Hana as Ichigo quickly went into the kitchen to make them something to eat, two hours before they had to meet Daniel at the club. Ichigo had said something about not going, but Rukia didn't agree.

Their lives had been pretty damn gloomy since she'd arrived, and a night out was exactly what they needed. After he made her swear on Byakuya's grave that she was okay, he said they could. Rukia was pretty sure it was the only Ichigo wished Rukia wasn't okay.

Hana had calmed down enough around 6 o'clock that she and Rukia started to get ready. Ichigo just lounged around, content with what he was wearing.

Rukia quickly fished around in her bag for her skinny jeans, boots and a chiffon top. It was Rukia's first time going to a club, and Hana had told her not to put on a warm top, something about it being extremely hot inside.

The shirt was likely the nicest thing she owned. It was white with multiple straps on the back, exposing her toned muscles. Then jean was similar to the one Karin had lent her, the only difference being that it was actually Rukia's size. And the boots were a light brown, classical combat style.

Both Hana and Rukia stepped out of their rooms at the same time. Hana was wearing a short black dress with long sleeves, which suited her figure perfectly. "Aren't you going to wear some make-up?" she asked, causing Rukia to frown.

She had tried to put on heavier make-up, but instead it had looked like someone had punched her.

"Come on" Hana said after Rukia explained she wasn't very good at doing make-up. Ichigo was calling at them to hurry up by the time Hana finished. Rukia thanked her and looked at her face in the mirror, almost not recognizing herself.

Ichigo ushered them from the apartment, telling them both they looked good. Looks like a near-death experience was all Ichigo needed to let something go, which didn't please Rukia.

By the time the reached the club, Rukia and Hana were shivering from the freezing air. Ichigo, always the gentleman, had told them to suck it up half way to the club.

"Rukia!" a voice called from the entrance, Daniel appearing soon after.

He ran up to them and hugged Hana, greeted Ichigo and planted a kiss on Rukia's lips. She pulled back in shock, but decided to let it slide since Daniel was obviously tipsy. "Follow me" he said and took Rukia's hand, pulling her to the entrance.

Loud music spilled form the open door, enveloping them as they entered. Rukia's breath caught in her throat. There appeared to be two floors, both open planned. There was a bar right next to the entrance, as well as on the second floor.

The first floor consisted mostly of a giant dance floor with bathrooms on the sides. The second floor functioned as a lounge, with comfortable looking couches and pool tables.

It took Rukia's eyes a while to adjust to the multi-coloured lights, and it felt like the beat of her heart was synchronising with the rhythem of the music. She turned around and looked at Ichigo and Hana, who had already moved to stand in line at the bar.

"Do you want something to drink?" Daniel asked, practically yelling into Rukia's ear. Rukia nodded and was about to join the others at the bar, but instead Daniel tugged her towards the stairs. When she resisted he pointed at the other bar, which had less people standing around it.

Together they ascended the stairs and pushed their way through the crowd.

Daniel ordered something from the bar man and Rukia watched as he put two tiny glassed down in front of them. She wouldn't have known what to do if couple next to her hadn't ordered the same thing.

Daniel handed her the tiny glass and together they tipped the contents into their mouths. Rukia scrunched up her face as the liquid burned its way down her throat. "Yah" she exclaimed once they stepped away from the bar.

"I know" Daniel laughed, "Burns like hell." Rukia thought about the statement for a moment, but decided not to say how wrong he was.

They stood at the railing and Rukia watched the people dance. When she had come in, all the people thriving together look gross to her, but one minute later she found herself among the gross people.

Her hips swayed along with the beat, and she raised her arms above her head. She tried to enjoy it as much as she could, but the people kept bumping into her. After a while she noticed a lot of people dancing together, and none of the girls were getting bumped into.

In one smooth motioned she positioned herself in front of Daniel. He quickly caught on and put his hands on her hips, moving along at her pace.

They danced like that for what felt like hours on end, and as it turns out, ended up being about two hours. Rukia noticed as an orange haired boy slipped onto the dance floor not far from the two of them.

She watched vicariously as Hana turned towards Ichigo, reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck. They started kissing, but not in a way Rukia had seen them kiss before. Ichigo was clutching on to Hana, leaving no space between them. Hana, in turn, tightened her grip on him and slid her fingers into his hair.

She knew it was the alcohol speaking, but at that moment she didn't care. She turned around and looked up at Daniel. He looked deep into her eyes, searching for approval before he lowered his lips to hers.

Seconds before their lips met, a chill passed through Rukia's spine. She pulled away form a very confused Daniel, looking around the room for the spiritual pressure that had caught her attention.

She knew it was close, but couldn't find it.

She locked eyes with Ichigo, who had also caught on to the spiritual pressure. He mouthed something that looked like "No", but it was too late. Rukia took off for the front of the club, almost tripping down the steps.

People looked at her as she dashed down the street, following the trail. Finally she turned down an alley, coming face to face with the disturbance. It was a man, dressed in the traditional Shinigami robes, standing with his Zanpaktō pointed at her.

Ichigo rounded the bend at the same time the man spoke.

"You left us there, you were supposed to save us" he slurred, his head falling to one side. Rukia's blood ran cold as she realised it was one of the men that had served under her on the mission. "You were supposed to save us, to die with us" he continued, sounding like a broken record.

"Rukia?" Ichigo asked from behind her. Rukia tried to speak, but her throat had gone dry. Instead of answering him, she turned back to the man. It took her a couple seconds, but she found her voice again.

"I didn't, I swear I didn't leave you. I was pulled out, I couldn't stop them" she pleaded, knowing that it sounded desperate. She was about to continue when the man gave an unearthly howl and hunched over. Ichigo came to stand in front of her, protecting her with his body.

The man started to sway from side to side, as if being pulled by strings. A sickening crack filled the alley as something tore from the man's back. The rest of the man also started to transform, only his face remaining normal. His swords seemed to merge with his arms, which soon turned out to be a tail.

"A hollow" Ichigo breathed, also not understanding what was going on. "You left us" the man said, his voice coming out gravelled, a sound only a hollow could produce.

"Ichigo!" Rukia ordered, but Ichigo was one step ahead of her. He had already removed Kon and was swallowing the green pill. Rukia reached for her own one, given to her by Uruhara. However, before she could swallow it, Ichigo grabbed her wrist.

"No way, you're not joining this fight!" he yelled at her.

"Baka, let me go, Uruhara said it was fine every once in a while" she said, ripping her arms from Ichigo's grip and swallowing the pill before he could stop her.

She stood for a moment, checking for any abnormal feelings in her body, but to her relief there were none. She gave Ichigo a look that said he shouldn't worry, she was fine. Ichigo still made the first move, leaving no openings for Rukia to attack, even if she wanted to.

The hollow was strong, almost at the level of a Menos Grande and Ichigo was having a hell of a time keeping it at bay. To add to their troubles, Daniel and Hana found them. "Ichigo! Rukia!" Hana yelled and ran up to Kon, wrapping her arms around him.

Rukia was about to tell the two mod-souls to take them away when she realised Daniel was staring directly at her. "Rukia?" he asked, hesitantly stepping closer to her.

"You- you can see me?" Rukia stammered, her attention completely drawn to him. Daniel looked like he wanted to say something, but her name being called pulled her back to the hollow. She duck just as its tail swung pass, almost smashing through the wall.

Hana screamed and ducked, hands over her head. Daniel stared and terrified fascination at the beast in front of him.

"Daniel! You need to get out of here!" Rukia screamed, when she saw Ichigo being thrown to the ground. The hollow took the moment to finish his transformation. She started at the hollow, watching as its previously thick tail split into two, blades at each end.

"Damn" Ichigo muttered, wiping blood from the side of his mouth as he stood up.

"Ichigo?" Daniel asked, which of course got Hana's attention. "Daniel, what are you looking at? We've got to get out of here!" she said panicked.

"Daniel, please, take care of Hana" Rukia said before unsheathing Sode no Shirayuki. She raised the sword just as one of the hollow's tails collided with her. It pushed her back several feet, but she was able to stay upright.

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki" she said, holding her blade up. It turned white and Rukia felt her power coursing through her body. She side stepped the hollow's tail and slid her blade down it until she came close enough for an attack.

She spared a quick glimpse to see if Daniel and Hana had left, but to her disappointment they hadn't. Luckily Kon was trying to get them out of the way, but it looked like Daniel refused to budge.

She used her speed to deliver and blow to the hollow's shoulder, creating a deep gash. Before it could retaliate, Rukia jumped to a safe distance. Ichigo joined her soon enough, a tiny stream of blood trailing down the side of his face.

"This thing has got to have two brains, no way can he attack both of us at once" Ichigo said.

Rukia wouldn't say she was disagreeing with him, but she knew there had to be more than met the eye. Something was fuelling the hollow, maybe the spirit of the Soul Reaper it was possessing? Rukia didn't know, but it made killing it harder.

The hollow came at them with surprising speed, catching both of them off guard. They flanked to different sides, both drawing their blades across the hollow's legs. It stammered and landed on its stomach, and for a moment it looked like they had immobilised it.

Rukia realised their mistake only seconds before Ichigo. They had let the hollow get past them, leaving Hana and Daniel pretty much unprotected. "Daniel! RUN!" Rukia yelled at the top of her lungs, and for the first time he actually listened.

Kon pulled Hana into his arms and Daniel followed before Rukia's mod-soul fell in behind them, not turning her back on the hollow until she rounded the corner. Rukia felt some of the tension leaving her body, but not nearly enough.

Slowly the hollow started to get up.

"Good, now we can get down to business" Ichigo said, raising Zangetsu horizontal. "Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu" he said and a big flow of red and black spiritual pressure flowed around him. An intense wave of spiritual pressure almost sent Rukia flying as the black and red evaporated.

"Be ready" Ichigo said before he disappeared from her side. He reappeared behind the hollow, striking it in the back. The hollow fell forward once again, its mask going straight into Rukia's extended blade.

She watched as a crack slowly spread down the middle, almost feeling sad.

It shattered not long after that, black particles floating into the night sky. But unlike with most hollows, an object remained, edged onto Rukia's blade. Curiously she lifted her Zanpaktō, inspecting the object before feeling as if the world had stopped around her.

She fell backwards, covering her mouth with her hands as her Zanpaktō clattered to the ground, returning to its normal form.

The piece of wood stuck to her blade split in two as it made contact with the concrete, but Rukia didn't care. She didn't think she'd ever see it again.

It was her lieutenant's badge. The one taken from her during a match in Hell, by none other than their target, during their second last encounter. Ichigo picked up the pieces, examining them until he also realised what they were.

He looked at Rukia on the ground, his gaze questioning her.

"He's alive. The Hebi no otoko is still alive."


	9. Chapter 9

**Hay guys! I'm so sorry for waiting this long to post, things have been crazy around here. O, happy New Years! I know it's a little late, but maybe someone needed a little reminder that it's a new year with new possibilities. Or, that's actually just my way of saying I'm going to be extremely busy from now on. Please don't stop reading because of that, I promise I'll do my best to update as soon as possible :)**

**So yeah, enjoy and let me know what's going on in those nogens of yours **

**xx**

* * *

><p>Chapter 9:<p>

Rukia held her breath, counting to ten before she knocked on the door. There was a rustle from inside, but no indication that she could go in.

"Daniel, it's me, Rukia" she tried, even though she was sure it wouldn't make a difference. He had been ignoring her for almost a week before she finally mustered up to courage to show up at his house unannounced. Luckily his mother like her a lot.

She tried the door handle, finding that it was unlocked.

"Please, let's talk about this" she said as she set one foot inside the room. Daniel was on his bed, staring at the ceiling. "Don't want to" he said, and it set Rukia over the edge. If he was going to act like a child, he could at least come up with a better excuse.

"That's it" Rukia muttered before she walked in, shut the door and jumped onto his bed. Daniel's eye widened in surprise as Rukia's foot made contact with his stomach. He rolled to his side, hoping it would get him his wind back.

"Why are you mad at me, huh? Is it because I didn't tell you?" she exclaimed, crossing her legs as she sat down next to him.

"What exactly did you want me to say? 'Hi, my name is Rukia, I can see dead people and can fight big black beasts'" she said, sarcasm thick in her voice. Daniel had taken the time to sit up, opening his mouth to say something, but quickly realising that she was right.

"I'm sorry okay? I'm sorry that I'm not who you thought I was. Wait, no. I'm exactly the person you've spent all this time with, I just happen to have sort of another life okay" she continued when he didn't say or do anything.

A silence settled between them, heavy and threatening. "I'll leave if that's what you want" Rukia whispered, surprised by how badly it stung to say the words. When Daniel once again didn't say anything, she started to get up.

"If it means anything, it was nice-" she said, but when an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her onto the bed, it stopped her mid-sentence.

"Don't go" Daniel said, making Rukia's heart flutter. Well, that and the position they were in, him being on top of her and all. He reached down and stroked her cheek, his thumb resting on her lips. "I'm not mad, I promise. It just a lot to take in" he whispered, setting his forehead on hers.

"I'm sorry I stayed away as long as I did, I just didn't know how to approach you" he admitted, "It's not every day you find out you girlfriend is a Shinigami."

Rukia looked at him alarmingly.

"How?" she asked, knowing he'll understand her question even if she didn't fill the blanks.

"Ichigo beat you to the punch. We have classes together so I can't exactly avoid him" Daniel said and Rukia mentally cursed Ichigo. "He also told me he was one, but he didn't tell me how exactly this came to be" Daniel said, giving her an expectant look.

Rukia sighed, getting herself comfortable for a long day. "Well, I first met Ichigo…" she started, and for three hours after that she was still talking, occasionally answering one of Daniel's many questions.

She told him how Ichigo had become a Soul Reaper, how that had gotten her in trouble and how Ichigo had gone to save her. She left out the parts about Ichigo going bat-shit crazy at one point, knowing Ichigo would probably be mad at her.

She then went on to explain how the Soul Society worked, where in the topic of hollows also came up several time.

The only things she didn't tell him was about her mission and her history with Ichigo.

"Okay… I think I've got it now" Daniel said finally, nodding his head up and down a few times before he started shaking it from side to side. "No, on second thought, this is all pretty crazy" he admitted, sinking his head into the pillows next to Rukia's.

"Just out of curiosity, how long have you been able to see spirits?" Rukia asked, patting his head absentmindedly. He shifted a little before answering, "I don't know, I can't remember not seeing them" he said.

"What I want to know is what the chances are?" he asked and Rukia looked down to study his face.

"What do you mean?"

"What are the chances that I became friends with two people who are in a way the same as me?" he finished his question, lacing their fingers together and circling the top of her hand with his thumb.

"O, that's actually normal. People with higher than normal spiritual pressure are automatically drawn to each other, but they don't always know it" Rukia explained. "But it's not an exact science, so it doesn't always work that way."

"I guess that makes sense" Daniel whispered.

After a moment of silence he added, "How's Hana doing?"

Rukia sighed.

"She's okay. She and Ichigo are a bit strained though. She didn't see anything so we just told her that I hadn't been feeling well and Ichigo was worried when he saw me run from the club. She's a little sceptical about how the wall exploded, but she doesn't think we had anything to do with it."

"That's good" Daniel said, "She's freaks out easily" he added before laughing. It was the kind of laugh you gave when you knew you shouldn't really find the situation funny, but you can't help yourself.

Soon Rukia joined in.

"I'm bac-" Rukia started to say as she stepped into Hana's apartment just as the sun was setting. She closed her mouth when she heard Hana wasn't home alone.

It sounded like she and Ichigo were in the bedroom, but they were fighting again. It had become a pretty common occurrence since the night of the club. Most of the time they tried to dial it down when Rukia was around, which meant she didn't know the extent of their problems.

She quickly put her things down and was about to go to her room and listen to music until they stopped, but their argument caught her attention.

She knew it was wrong to listen in on their conversation, but she couldn't help herself as she stood closer to the door, not pressing her ear against it in case they heard her.

"I don't know why you're lying to me, but I know you are" Hana said, sounding very close to tears. "And it's not just now that Rukia's back, it was before that as well. Don't think I never noticed how many times you had to slip out to do something, or you had to cancel plans because you had some last minute thing going on.

I also know there's something you're not telling me, something big." Hana stopped talking, obviously waiting for Ichigo to react, but it didn't sound like he intended to.

"So that's it? You're not going to say anything?" Hana asked, and Rukia was pretty sure she had started to cry. Again, silence.

"You know what, since I'm the only one talking, why don't I just put it all out in the open" Hana said, confusing Rukia, and apparently Ichigo. "What all?" he asked.

"Rukia" Hana simply said, causing every muscle in Rukia's body to tense. "What about her?" Ichigo asked and to Rukia's surprise he sounded pretty annoyed, almost as if they've had the argument more than once.

"You always say that! What about her? I like Rukia, I honestly do, but there is obvisouly more to you guys then you're telling anyone" Hana scoffed, and Rukia felt the blood drain from her face.

After living Hana for a week, Rukia really came to believe they could be good friends. They told each other secrets, watched movies together, went out for dinner, but Rukia had never heard Hana say something about her.

"Hana, how many times do I have to tell you that Rukia and I don't have a romantic history, we've just been through a lot together" Ichigo said, sounding extremely exasperated.

"Until you also believe it" Hana said, cutting the conversation abruptly.

"You and I have been together for a long time now Ichigo" she continued, her voice a little bit gentler. "I know you pretty well, and I've never seen you act around anyone the way you do around her. I'm not saying that you love her, but don't pretend like she's just a friend to you, that would be unfair towards both of us."

Rukia felt like her knees were about to give in, an action that would cause a lot of noise.

"I honestly don't know what you mean" Ichigo said, but even he sounded half-hearted about it. Even so, Rukia's heart squeezed a little.

"Please, can we just forget about this?" Ichigo asked and Rukia heard someone moving inside the room. When Hana didn't reply, Rukia assumed they were hugging or kissing or whatever. Silently she slipped across the hallway and into her room.

She heard them leave the room and go into the living room, where Hana commented on Rukia's things being back. Ichigo then left and Rukia waited to see if Hana would come to her.

After a tedious fifteen minutes, Rukia finally heard a knock on her door.

"Come in" Rukia said, pretending to busy herself with a book she was holding. Hana stood awkwardly in the door, shuffling her feet with her head bent down. "I'm guessing you heard?" she asked. Rukia decided to admit the truth, but didn't mention that she had been standing outside their door.

"Yeah" she whispered.

Hana sighed and walked over to where Rukia was sitting on her bed. She hesitantly placed herself next to Rukia and looked in front of her. "I'm sorry, Rukia. I didn't mean anything against you, I swear" she said, trying her best to apologise.

"I know, and I promise I'm not upset… A little confused maybe, but not upset" Rukia said, placing her book on the stand next to her bed.

When Hana didn't say anything, Rukia took it as her cue to continue. "I guess I just didn't know I was playing a role in your relationship… I'm truly sorry if I'm causing trouble between the two of you."

For a moment Hana just stared at Rukia before shaking her head, a tiny laugh escaping from between her lips. "That's just like you Rukia, apologizing for something that couldn't possibly be your fault" Hana said and for a moment Rukia didn't know what was going on.

Slowly Hana leaned into her hands and started sobbing. Rukia, not sure what to do, reached out and touched her shoulder. Almost instantly Hana threw herself into Rukia's chest, scrunching her shirt in her fists.

"Shhh" Rukia whispered as she stroked her friend's hair. She badly wanted to add something, but since she was the problem, it was damn hard. Instead she kept her mouth shut and waited for Hana's outburst to end.

"I'm-I'm s-sorry Ruki-ia" Hana said between sobs "I'm act-ting like a-a baby-y". They talked for more than an hour, about pretty much anything and everything. Rukia learned new things about Hana, and at the same time things she didn't want to know about her and Ichigo's more intimate moments.

"You know, all my friends think we've slept together, but it isn't true. Sure, we've gone pretty far, but it's been more than a year now. Do you think he doesn't love me enough?" Hana asked, and Rukia was glad that she couldn't see how red her face was getting.

She couldn't recall a single moment where she had had this conversation with anyone. Sure, Rengi had brought it up a few times, but he had been exceptionally drunk on these occasions. Then of course there was Rangiku, who talked about it more often than anyone wanted to hear.

But Rukia had never needed to console anyone because of their sex-life, or lack thereof anyway. She finally decided the best plan of action would simply be to tell her that she was an amazing person and that Ichigo was just the dumbest person on Earth.

She pretty much stuck to that strategy for the rest of their conversation until she was able to convince Hana that Ichigo wasn't planning on breaking up with her.

"You really thinks so?" Hana asked, her sobs finally gone. "Of course" Rukia said affectionately, sitting back as Hana sat herself up. She looked very bad, face stained by tears, swollen red eyes and hair messy from Rukia's petting.

_Damn Ichigo_, Rukia thought, mad at him for making Hana cry. Hana wiped her nose, and tried to smooth down her hair, but it wasn't making her look better. "Why don't you go to bed?" Rukia asked, trying to sound as gentle as possible.

"Is that your way of telling me I look bad?" Hana asked, laughing when Rukia pointed at the mirror and her desk. "Bed it is" Hana said. She slowly got up and went to the door.

"Thanks Rukia, you really do mean a lot to me" she said before giving a sincere smile and slipping out of the room.

Rukia smiled back, but more to herself than Hana. Before she knew it, she had come to really love Hana. And not in some creepy way, Hana reminded her a lot of Hisana sometimes. Not necessarily because of her actions, but more because of her kind heartedness and her compassion.

Hana, like everyone, had her flaws, but at the end of the day she was an incredible person, and Rukia was glad they had met. So glad that she had almost forgotten that Hana had taken Ichigo from her.

Almost.

Still, as she started getting ready for bed, she couldn't help but think about Daniel was slowly starting to fill the spaces in her mind that Ichigo had once consumed, and she liked it.

Who knew? Maybe things would work out just fine.


	10. Chapter 10

**So sorry for the wait! Please enjoy and review**

**Disclaimer: If I had one wish, I'd wish for the rights to Bleach.**

**xxx**

* * *

><p>Chapter 10:<p>

"There, perfect" Rukia said as she placed the two bowls of popcorn on the coffee table. Next she checked all the candles and the movies she had picked out. When she was satisfied with her handy work, she checked it all over again until there was a frantic knock on the door.

She quickly walked over and opened it, finding a very tired Ichigo on the other side. "What? What happened? Are you okay? Is Hana okay?" he asked, not even bothering to take a breath between questions.

Rukia pulled Ichigo into the apartment, "Yeah, everyone's fine, I just needed to get you here" she said. Ichigo looked like he was about to kill her, but then noticed all the candles, roses and food spread out across the living room.

"Rukia… What're you up to?" he asked, looking at her sceptically.

"Hana and I had a little conversation last night" Rukia said and Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise. "O, don't worry. I just thought I'd like to help ease the tension between the two of you" she continued, ducking down to grab her duffel bag that she had put down next to the door earlier.

"Hana will be back in ten minutes, I suggest you go through the movies I got and make yourself familiar with the surroundings" Rukia said as she started to open the door again.

"Wait, Rukia, what's going on here?" Ichigo asked before she could step out of the door. Rukia sighed, wondering how it was possible for one person to be so dense. "It's a date night Ichigo. You decided that you wanted to be a loving boyfriend and make up to her for making her cry. You asked me to go somewhere else for the night, which I did without complaint. Do I need to explain the story or can your tiny orange brain guess the rest?"

Ichigo looked away, raking a hand through his hair.

"Hay, don't overthink it. This is just my way of trying to make up for the mess I brought back to your life" Rukia said gently before giving him a tiny smile. He smiled back, but it was sad, which was the opposite of what his night had to be.

"Please Ichigo, make things right with Hana. It's terrible to see you guys fighting like this" she said and hoped it would finally sink in. When he didn't say anything, Rukia left, but seconds before the door shut, she heard him say "Thank you, Rukia."

She leaned against the door for a second before pulling her duffel bag closer and going down the stairs. It was cold outside, exceedingly so, and very dark. She walked fast with certain steps, not stopping once before she reached Daniel's place.

She had asked him if she could stay there for the night, but didn't say why. Daniel, being how he is, didn't ask any questions.

"Hay there little missy" Rukia heard someone say from the shadows. She swirled around, ready to launch herself out of harm's way. Unfortunately the man was closer than she anticipated and she was unable to get out of the way before he grabbed her wrists.

She stared for a moment at the man's rough hands, binding hers together. She tried to pull them away, but his grip was iron clad. "How?" she asked, to herself more than anyone. Usually she would have sensed someone if they got close to her, but she never noticed the man.

To add to that, she couldn't even break free from the man, her body simply couldn't muster the amount of strength needed. She hated it, hated feeling completely helpless.

The man paid no attention to her desperate flailing, instead he simply pulled her into the alley. Her bag had fallen from her shoulder and was dangling from the crook of her elbow, which added to her discomfort.

She wasn't particularly scared, she just hoped the man would let go of her wrists, because then she'd be able to fight back. But, it seemed like the man intended on having his fun first.

Quickly he pushed her into the wall, shoving his knee between her legs. Rukia pushed herself onto her toes, avoiding said knee. He then brought his face into her neck, breathing in deeply, almost as if tasting her.

Finally he pulled one of his hands away, cupping a place that he sure as hell was not even supposed to look at. "Now much, now is there?" he said in a husky voice. This made Rukia mad.

In a swift motion she yanked her hands from his grip, jabbing both into the muscles next to his shoulders. The man yelled out and stumbled back. Rukia took this moment to shove her boot into his gut and as he fell forward her boot made contact with his forehead, hard.

She knew she hadn't done any serious damage, but she had knocked him out and it would be a good long while before he regained consciousness. She quickly walked out into the street, and saw that there was a man and woman walking down the road.

She went over to them and told them about the man in the alley.

The husband quickly disappeared the way Rukia had come and the woman pulled out her phone and called the police. Rukia was gone before they arrived.

She hurried the rest of the way to Daniel's apartment, just in case the police decided to look for her.

When she finally arrived, she knocked hard and fast on the front door. "Coming!" she heard Daniel call from inside and he had barely opened the door before Rukia pushed inside, slamming it shut behind her.

"Rukia?" Daniel asked, but Rukia interrupted him by pulling him further into the living room. She then started pushing the furniture to the side, once again creating a big open space.

"Fight me" Rukia said, turning to face a very confused Daniel. "What?" he simply asked, but stepped into the open space. "Don't ask why, just fight me, and promise me that you won't hold back" she said, getting ready to throw a punch.

"Okay, but you asked for it" he said and before Rukia could even lift her arm, Daniel had lunged forward and knocked her off her feet. She hit the ground hard, her wind completely knocked out of her.

"Shit, Rukia" Daniel said as he sunk down next to her, helping her to roll onto her side. "I didn't mean- I'm sorry, I thought…" he said, but didn't know how to finish his thought. But Rukia did.

"I thought you'd be able to dodge such and easy punch" Rukia said, so soft it was almost a whisper. Daniel didn't say anything, which meant he also didn't deny it.

"I don't understand what's happening to me. I can barely even defend myself" she continued, "At this rate I'm not going to be able to save myself from anything."

"Come on, Rukia. We both know that's not true. You just weren't ready. I promise that if we had another go right now, you'd wipe the floor with me" Daniel said, reaching out to touch Rukia's shoulder. Before she knew it she pushed herself out of his reach.

"Yeah right, if only that were true. If someone with half your skill attacked me now, I'd probably lose within the second attack" Rukia said, wrapping her arms around herself.

Suddenly Daniel was on his feet, marching over to where Rukia was, grabbed her arms and shoved her back onto the ground. "Well, that's pretty convenient. The only reason I haven't had my way with you is because you'd kill me" he said, climbing on top of Rukia.

She was about to ask him what his deal was, but he stopped her by pressing his lips roughly against hers. Rukia squirmed under his weight, but she couldn't get out.

Daniel's kiss intensified before leaving her mouth and traveling down her throat. Soon his lips found the collar of her shirt. He released one of her hands, with which she tried to push him away, and slipped it under her shirt.

Rukia gasped as his hand pulled her shirt up over her bra and his lips pressed against hers again. She continued to try and break free, but she simply wasn't strong enough.

It wasn't until tears started to form in her eyes that she realised how stupid she was being. There she was, crying about a situation that usually would have taken her a few seconds to work her way out of.

With a cry like a rabid dog, Rukia tore free from Daniel's hold. She didn't waste any time punching him so hard that he fell backwards off of her. She watched, fists at the ready, as he sat up. But instead of looking angry, he laughed and rubbed his jaw.

"See, I told you that you weren't defenceless. Just because you can't beat people up at random, doesn't mean you're weak" he said.

Rukia looked at him, dumbstruck. "Are you telling me this was your way of consoling me?" she asked, and by his expression she could tell she was right. "Really? Why couldn't you have given me some inspirational pep talk?" she asked.

"Seriously? When have you ever listened to any advice given to you?" Daniel asked, raising one eyebrow. "Plus, it's probably the only way I'll ever get to second base with you" he added with a smirk and narrowly dodged the second punch Rukia threw at him.

Daniel sighed when he was rewarded with a smile from Rukia.

"Anyway, why are you here? Not that I'm complaining" Daniel said, starting to put the furniture back in its place. "I'm helping Ichigo out with his relationship" Rukia said and almost started laughing when Daniel blushed.

"I didn't leave so they could have time for that, I just wanted them to have some alone time" Rukia said, getting up to help him. "And how they choose to spend that alone time, well, that's not up to me."

"Well, you should give them some more alone time" Daniel said as he stood to see that everything was back in its place. Rukia didn't answer, but turned away until she was sure the pink had subsided from her face.

"So, what are the plans for tonight?" Rukia asked, busying herself with arranging pillows.

"I was thinking we could have ourselves a movie night. My parents are out, which means we don't have to worry about waking them" Daniel said, rearranging the pillows she had arranged. Rukia scowled, once again putting the pillows back to the way she liked them.

And so the war began.

"I'm telling you, they should be like this" Rukia said, grabbing the pillow Daniel was holding and placing it on the couch. "No, this one has to be there" Daniel retorted, once again moving the poor pillow.

"You know what, I think this one should be here" Rukia said and stuffed the pillow into Daniel's chest, causing him to lose his balance and fall onto the couch. He reached forward out of instinct and grabbed Rukia's wrist, pulling her down with him.

Together they landed on the pillows, disorganising them completely. "I think they should be like this" he whispered into her ear before reaching forward and grabbing the TV remote. "Now, what would my little match-maker like to watch?" Daniel asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

Rukia sighed, a sure sign of her admitting defeat. "I don't care, just not something lovey dovey" she said, pretty sure she didn't want to create any kind of mood.

"Fine with me, how about a horror movie?" Daniel asked and to Rukia's surprise, it sounded like a good idea. They finally settled on The Conjuring, a choice Rukia soon regretted.

"No!" Rukia exclaimed as she turned around and buried her face in Daniel's chest, covering her eyes with her hands, even though it wasn't necessary. They were half way through the movie and the evil person had finally made its appearance.

She felt Daniel's chest shake against her, lightly at first, but he almost started shaking as his laughter loudened to the point where Rukia had to sit up and check that he wasn't going to choke. She was about to punch his arm when a gravity seemed to pull them both down.

At first Rukia didn't understand, but she soon recognised the sensation as the force of an intensely powerful spiritual pressure. It passed about a minute later, leaving both Rukia and Daniel panting, trying to move their weak muscles.

"What the hell was that?" Daniel asked between breaths. "Nothing good" Rukia whispered. She recognised the pressure, it was almost the same as that of the man from the alley, but it wasn't exactly the same.

But one thing was for sure, it was definitely not a good sign.

She jumped up, ran to the front door and started redressing. Daniel followed suite, pulling on his boats and coat as she unlocked the door.

"Where to?" he asked, and Rukia found that she liked the fact that he didn't ask "Where are you going?" They hurried down the stairs as Rukia explained that the spiritual pressure was still lingering and that she would be able to trace it.

They broke out into a jog once they hit the pavement, Rukia at the lead, but only because Daniel didn't know where she was going. "No, please no" Rukia said as she reached the spot where the lingering pressure was originating from.

It was Hana's apartment.

Daniel's face went hard, even he realised that something terrible must have happened. They sprinted up the stairs and all the way to Hana's door. Rukia had barely raised her hand to the door when it suddenly swung open.

"Rukia, come in" Ichigo said, his voice telling her all that she needed to know. Something was wrong… something was very wrong. She pushed past him and into the apartment, which luckily seemed intact.

"What happened?" she asked, scanning the room. Ichigo didn't waste time, instead he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to Hana's bedroom. Inside she found Hana lying on the bed, asleep.

"She said she had to go to the bathroom. I didn't think much of it, but when she was gone for fifteen minutes, I decided to come check on her. It was then that the giant wave of spiritual pressure started. Afterwards I found her lying on the ground in here. She was holding this" Ichigo said, reaching into his pocket and holding the object up for Rukia to see.

"What is this doing here?" Rukia asked as she stared at her broken lieutenant's badge in his hand. "I had put it in my bag the other day. I forgot that it was still in there and accidentally brought it along, but I don't know how she got a hold of it" Ichigo said.

Rukia took the badge, holding it between her palms as she tried to feel for any kind of spiritual pressure, but the all trace of it was completely gone. When she was certain there was nothing she could do, Rukia handed the badge back to Ichigo, glad to be rid of it.

She then knelt beside Hana's bed, touching the girls arm. Her body temperature felt normal, and her breathing was fine. Truth be told, she looked like she had she simply fallen asleep in her clothes, not even a hair out of place.

"There must have been some spiritual pressure left in the badge. Hana was just at the wrong place at the wrong time" Rukia said, standing up and going back into the living room. "But she's fine? Right?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia looked at him with a reassuring gaze, "She's fine, it was probably just too much for her to handle at close range" she said, relieved when Ichigo breathed out and sat down. Daniel joined him and Rukia sat down on one of the chairs, pulling her knees up to her chin.

"What now?" Ichigo asked using his I'm-way-to-young-to-be-this-serious voice. Rukia thought about it for a moment. It wasn't like there was any immediate danger, but the amount of spiritual pressure that was released would soon attract other unwanted problems.

"I guess we'll just have to stay up and patrol tonight" Rukia said, rubbing her temples. She then turned to Daniel. "Sorry, I guess we'll have to finish that movie some other time" she said, and was relieved when he said "It's okay, I'll come see you again tomorrow" and went back home.

Ichigo had disappeared while Rukia led Daniel to the door, but she knew where to find him. The door to Hana's room stood ajar, so Rukia walked in without knocking. Ichigo was sitting next to Hana, his one hand caressing her cheek.

"We need to go" Rukia said, her voice soft and respectful. Ichigo didn't say anything, but he quickly stood up and followed her out the door and into the living room. They made quick work of slipping into their spiritual selves and went outside.

The patrolled the entire city, straining themselves to find any and all hallows that appeared. Luckily only a handful showed up, and none of them were strong. Rukia and Ichigo fought together, but Rukia mostly gave the finishing blows and she knew that Ichigo found her unwillingness strange.

After about six hours of jumping around, they finally took a break on a tall building's rooftop.

Ichigo sat down against the wall of the door that led downstairs while Rukia stood closer to the edge, peering down at the still busy street below them. "Rukia" Ichigo said, catching her attention. She turned to face him, "Yeah?" she asked.

"That spiritual pressure earlier, did you recognise it?" he asked. "A little bit, yes. But it was different" she answered, turning back to the view. "I thought so, it was the same for me" Ichigo said. "Damn, I really didn't want her to get involved" he muttered, placing his head in his hands.

Rukia turned around and went to sit down next to him. "Ichigo, you got her involved the day you decided to see her again" Rukia said without thinking, but she didn't try to soften the blow her words had clearly been to Ichigo. His body stiffened next to hers, but just as soon relaxed again.

"I know" he whispered.

"But you're not the to blame. She was safe with you, but it's my fault she isn't safe anymore. I caused this" Rukia said, causing Ichigo to look at her

"I've endangered all of you, and I probably won't even be able to clean up my own mess" Rukia said, staring out into the distance. "Rukia… what're you trying to say?" Ichigo asked, clearly confused by her train of thought.

Rukia considered if she had tell him, or if it would only burden him more than her problems already were. At first she didn't say anything, but that wasn't because she didn't want to. She just couldn't seem to think of a way to say what she needed to say. The words jumbled around in her mind, alluding her just as she reached out to grab them.

"Rukia" Ichigo said, his voice stern and demanding. Rukia looked at him, and she could almost picture how sad she must have looked to him.

"It's starting" she whispered "I'm dying."

Ichigo's eyes widened in disbelief. "Bu-but I thought there was more time" Ichigo asked, standing up and pacing around. "I thought so to, but recent events have led me to believe otherwise" Rukia said, getting a little agitated by his moving around.

"Shit!" Ichigo yelled, slamming his fist into the wall a little bit down from Rukia. "Ichigo" she whispered, knowing it wouldn't do anything to calm his temper, but she just had to say his name.

"It's not so bad, I mean if you look at it from another perspective, my life has been wonderful. It's not like I'm dying young" she said, a sad laugh escaping her lips. Ichigo stopped moving then, instead he took two giant strides and pulled Rukia up from the ground.

"Stupid shrimp" he whispered, wrapping his arms tight around her tiny frame. If anyone were to see them, they'd wouldn't even notice Rukia, because Ichigo's size enveloped her completely.

"Never say that" Ichigo said, so loud that it almost hurt Rukia's ears. "If I knew your life meant so little to you, then I would have let the Soul Society have their way with you" he said, softer this time.

"Do you know what I thought when that spiritual power suddenly erupted? The very first thought, that one thought that you can't help yourself from thinking" Ichigo whispered, almost as if admitting it out loud was wrong.

"You" Ichigo said, a breath more than a word, before he pulled away and kissed her.

Rukia's eyes shot open, staring into Ichigo's. They were also open, but only slightly and not for very long. Rukia closed her own.

At first they kissed like teenagers who had never kissed anyone before, but when Rukia ran her fingers into his hair, Ichigo reacted. He pushed her back into the wall, pulling her sword and sheath away and throwing it, along with his own, on the ground,

He kissed her lips with a new found determination. Rukia broke away, trying to breathe again, but Ichigo didn't stop. He reached down and lifted her up until his mouth could reach her throat. Rukia wrapped her legs around his waist, both her hands on his neck and in his hair as she stretched her head as far back as it could possibly go.

Her mind was screaming at her to stop, to tell him it was wrong for them to doing this while Hana was lying unconscious in her bed. But her body didn't agree and at that moment, she was listening to her body.

Ichigo's hand reached up and pulled her uniform down, exposing her shoulders, but not further than that. He then kissed the base of her throat and her collar bones before returning to her lips. Finally he also broke away, opening his eyes and staring into hers.

He silently reached up and touched her cheek, "Don't ever be okay with just dying" he said, kissing her one final time before lowering her and stepping back. Rukia's legs shook a little as she stood on her own again.

Ichigo kissed her one more time before disappearing.

She reached up and touched her lips, relishing in the numbness she felt. It was then that she realised that she had been wrong. Daniel hadn't been filling the gaps that Ichigo had left, he was simply holding them together so that they didn't tear apart.

It was Ichigo, it had always been Ichigo that she loved, but for the first time since getting back, Rukia was sure of it. She stepped away from the wall and went to stand on the rood's edge. The city lights swam beneath her, the sound of traffic filling her ears.

Slowly she looked up, completely enticed by the moon as it began to sink, making places for the sun. It was ironic in a way. The sun and moon, so clearly dependent on one another, yet never being allowed to reach each other.

Then she whispered four words into the night sky, hoping that the moon would hear them and whisper them to the sun as they switched places in the early morning sky.

"I want to live."


End file.
